t3i,3  'LEMENTARY  EDUCATIONAL.    MONOG 

W^  Published  in  conjunction  with 

^^  CHOOL  REVIEW  and  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL 


Vol  III 

No.  4 

UC-NRLF 


Wt 


B  ^  sn  D7fl 


A  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATIC 
LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIF 
FROM  1 798  TO  1 860 


By 
WILLIAM  HENINGTON  WEATHERSBY 


fy^^m^ 


SUPPLEMENTARY  EDUCATIONAL  MONOGRAPHS 

Published  in  conjunction  with 
THE    SCHOOL    REVIEW    anJ  THE   ELEMENTARY   SCHOOL   JOURNAL 

Vol.111  J"ly'92l 

No.  4  Whole  No.  16 


A  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATIONAL 

LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI 

FROM  1798  TO  I860 


A  HISTORY  OF   EDUCATIONAL 

LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI 

FROM  1798  TO  1860 


By 
WILLIAM  HENINGTON  WEATHERSBY 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


Copyright  iq2i  By 
The  University  of  Chicago 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Published  July  192 1 


0.^4     '  JL 


vK.. 


PREFACE 

In  histories  of  education  in  the  United  States  the  southwest  for  the 
„,ost  part  has  been  ignored.     The  historian  sometimes  Jas  ascertamed 
a  few  facts  as  to  the  educational  history  of  Virgmia  and  the  Carohnas 
and  has  generaUzed  from  these  for  his  statements  as  to  the  history  of 
education  in  the  southern  states.     The  question  may  weU  be  ra.  ed 
whether  the  educational  history  of  Virginia  and  No^^  C-ohna  apphes 
to  the  states  of  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Arkansas,  and  Louis  ana  with 
L  grelSr  degree  of  accuracy  than  the  stories  of  the  historical  dev.lop- 
mJnf of  New  England  and  New  York  apply  to  the  states  of  Ohio, 
Mnlis,  and  India^na.    In  the  hope  that  he  might  -Pply --  ^^^^^^^^^^ 
data  toward  the  answer  of  this  question,  the  -^^^J^  ""Jj^'^J^^ 
this  study  of  educational  legislation  in  Mississippi  prior  to  the  Civil  Wan 
The  writer  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  obligations  to  Dr    M.  W 
Jernegan  for  his  critical  reading  of  the  manuscript  and  helpful  suggs- 
dons  to  Mr.  F.W.  Schenk,  of  the  law  library  of  the  University  of  Chicago 
to  Dr   Dunbar  Rowland,  director  of  the  Department  of  Archive    and 
History  of  Mississippi,  to  Mrs.  W.  F.  Marshall,  state  librarian  of  M.ssis- 
Sp-   and  h«Tssist'a;t,  Mrs.  H.  F.  Broyles,  for  facilitating  access  to 
source  material. 


INTRODUCTION 

This  volume  is  ihe  third  of  the  monographs  on  the  history  of  educa- 
tional legislation  of  various  states.  The  plan  and  purpose  of  these 
studies  are  set  forth  in  the  general  introductions  to  be  found  in  the 
first  and  second  volumes  of  this  series,  entitled  respectively,  "  Educational 
Legislation  and  Administration  in  the  State  of  New  York  from  1777 
to  1850''  and  ''The  History  of  Educational  Legislation  in  Ohio  from 
1803  to  1850."  A  comparison  of  the  educational  legislation  of  the 
three  states  in  question  well  illustrates  the  wide  variation  in  the  origin 
and  development  of  our  state  educational  systems,  and  helps  in  under- 
standing the  problems  involved  in  the  development  of  a  national  system 
of  education. 

The  history  of  the  educational  legislation  of  Mississippi  is  of  peculiar 
interest  for  several  reasons.  Being  one  of  the  states  of  the  New  South, 
this  legislation  was  influenced  by  two  important  factors,  absent  in  the 
states  "of  the  Old  South:  first,  the  original  settlers  came  principally 
from  the  back-country  regions  of  the  South  Atlantic  states,  and  secondly, 
they  entered  an  environment  which  approached  that  of  the  New  West, 
the  region  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  Both  of  these  factors  led  to  the 
development  of  a  democratic,  decentralized  school  system,  designed  to 
meet  the  special  needs  or  demands  of  individual  counties  and  even 
smaller  units.  As  a  result,  we  may  observe  the  consequences  of  local 
self-government  in  education  at  the  expense  of  an  efficient  centralized 
state  system,  based  on  general  laws  operative  over  the  entire  state. 

Dr^  Weathersby  has  set  forth,  for  the  first  time,  the  entire  legislation 
of  Mississippi  from  1798  to  i860,  and  discussed  the  larger  factors  which 
account  for  this  legislation.  He  has  given  a  clear  account  of  the  relation 
of  the  national  and  state  governments  to  elementary,  secondary,  and 
higher  education.  We  call  special  attention  to  chapters  iv,  v,  and  xi. 
In  the  first  we  have  a  previously  unwritten  chapter  on  the  method  of 
handling  the  famous  sixteenth  section  of  land,  granted  by  the  national 
government  for  the  support  of  public  education.  This  may  be  compared 
with  the  methods  adopted  by  Ohio.  In  chapter  v,  dealing  with  the 
numerous  county  systems  set  up  between  1846  and  i860,  there  is  oppor- 
tunity to  study  interesting  examples  of  experimentation  in  the  adminis- 
tration and  support  of  public  schools.     In  chapter  xi  we  may  study  the 


Vlll 


INTRODUCTION 


efforts  of  a  southern  and  western  state  to  develop  the  principle  of  state 
support,  or  aid,  to  education.  Dr.  Weathersby  has  also  provided  in 
Appendixes  A  and  B  invaluable  material  for  studies  involving  a  history 
of  comparative  educational  legislation  of  the  various  states. 

Marcus  W.  Jernegan 

University  of  Chicago 
April  15,  1920 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

''^''T^NFLUENCES  AFFECTING  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI  I 

Pre-territorial  history  negligible.  Sparseness  of  population. 
Homogeneous  white  race.  Ideals  and  customs  of  immigrants. 
Occupations  and  manner  of  life.  Inequality  in  the  distribution  of 
wealth.  Inadequate  means  of  communication  and  travel.  Western 
idea  of  supremacy  of  the  local  community.  Progressive  public 
leaders.  Influence  of  the  federal  land  grants.  Prosperity  of  the 
state.  Favorable  situation  for  the  academies.  A  hindrance  to 
higher  education. 

11.  The  General  Tendencies  and  Characteristics  of  Educa- 
tional Legislation  in  Mississippi  before  i860     .       .       .13 

Five  important  characteristics  of  the  common  school  legisla- 
tion. The  attempted  change  in  school  policy  in  1846  and  its 
general  results.  Private  initiative  in  secondary  education.  The 
modification  of  this  policy  in  higher  education.  Education  of 
special  classes. 
III.  Educational  Beginnings;    Legislation  of  the  Territorial 

Period ' 

Inactivity  of  the  judges.  Beginning  of  higher  education— 
JefTerson  College.  Beginnings  in  secondary  education.  The 
incorporation  of  academies.  Beginnings  in  elementary  education. 
The  private  schools.     The  sixteenth  sections. 

IV.  Elementary  Education  from  1817  to  1846.    The  Sixteenth 

Sections  AND  the  Township  Schools -° 

Admission  to  the  Union.  Constitutional  provision  on  educa- 
tion. Schools  under  the  county  judges.  The  Literary  Fund. 
Provision  for  control  of  schools  and  school  lands  under  the  Literary 
Fund  act.  Change  to  system  of  township  control  in  1824.  Leas- 
ing the  sixteenth  sections.  Loss  of  the  sixteenth  section  tunds. 
Loss  of  the  Literary  Fund.  Attempt  to  secure  new  school  lands. 
Curriculum  of  the  township  schools.     Characteristics  of  the  period. 

V.  Elementary  Education  from  1846  to  i860.    The  First  School 

System  AND  THE  iSIuLTiPLicATiON  of  "Systems  '    .       .       -41 

Agitation  for  a  free  school  system.  Governor  Brown's  recom- 
mendations.    The  adoption  of  a  school  system.     Analysis  of  the 


TABLE  OF  CONTEXTS 


CHAPTER 


act  of  1846.  Failure  of  the  act.  Attempt  to  amend  the  act  in 
1848.  Diversity  of  sentiment.  The  multipHcation  of  ''systems." 
General  characteristics  of  the  special  acts.  Legislation  for  indi- 
vidual townships.  Causes  of  the  dissolution  of  the  common 
school  system.  The  Chickasaw  counties.  Schools  for  munici- 
palities.    Common  school  status  at  the  end  of  the  period. 

VL  Secondary  Education  from  181 7  to  i860.    The  Mississippi 

Academies ^^ 

Incorporation  of  academies.  List  of  chartered  secondary 
schools.  Distribution  of  secondary  schools  by  historical  sections 
of  the  state.  Analysis  of  charters.  Influence  of  religious  denomi- 
nations. Secondary  schools  for  girls.  Supervision  of  academies. 
Curricula.     Status  of  secondary  education  in  1850. 

VII.  Higher  Education  in  Mississippi  from  181 7  to  i860  .  .  .  79 
The  federal  land  grant  for  a  "seminary  of  learning."  Sale  of 
the  Seminary  Lands.  The  Seminary  Fund.  JefTerson  College. 
Mississippi  College.  The  University  of  Mississippi.  The  Missis- 
sippi State  Female  College.  Incorporation  of  private  and  denomi- 
national colleges.  List  of  higher  institutions  that  received 
charters.  Denominational  and  fraternal  influence.  State  influ- 
ence on  higher  education. 

VHI.  Educational    Legislation    for    Special    Classes    ant)    for 

Special  Purposes 95 

Education  of  orphans.  Apprenticeships.  Orphans'  homes. 
Manual  Labor  School.  Vocational  education.  MiHtary  training. 
The  education  of  defectives.  Institution  for  the  bHnd.  Institu- 
tion for  the  deaf  and  dumb. 

IX.  Supplementary  Educational  Agencies 105 

Libraries.  The  Mississippi  State  Library.  Incorporation  of 
library  societies.  Societies  for  the  education  of  youths.  Mis- 
cellaneous organizations. 

X.  The  Administration  and  Supervision  of  Schools  and  the  Cer- 
tification OF  Teachers io9 

Laws  relative  to  school  control  and  supervision.  Provision  of 
the  Literary  Fund  act.  The  authority  of  the  township  trustees. 
Provisions  of  the  act  of  1846.  The  general  school  commissioner. 
Various  policies  of  the  several  counties  after  1848.  Laws  rela- 
tive to  the  certification  of  teachers. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XI.  Federal  and  State  Aid  to  Education 115 

Federal  land  grants.     Means  of  support  for  common  schools: 

(1)  Common  school  funds:  (i)  Sixteenth  Section  Fund;  (2)  Chicka- 
saw Fund;  (3)  Literary  Fund;  (4)  County  Common  School 
Funds.     (II)  Taxation  for  common  schools:  (i)  Indirect  taxation; 

(2)  Direct  taxation.  (Ill)  Appropriations  from  the  general  fund 
in  the  state  treasury.  State  aid  for  secondary  schools:  (i) 
Lotteries;  '  (2)  Exemptions;  (3)  Appropriations;  (4)  Indirect 
taxes;  (5)  Sixteenth  section  and  common  school  funds.  Support 
of  higher  education. 

Appendix  a.    Abstract  of  Charters   of  Secondary  Schools   and 

Higher   Institutions 129 

Appendix  b.    Complete    Index   to    Educational    Legislation    in 

Mississippi  from  1802  to  i860,  by  Titles  of  Acts  .     162 

Bibliography 197 

Index 201 


CHAPTER  I 

INFLUENCES  AFFECTING  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN 
MISSISSIPPI 

The  colonial  history  of  Mississippi  left  very  little  impress  upon  the 
later  life  of  the  territory  and  state.     For  all  practical  purposes  history 
began  in  Mississippi  only  a  few  years  before  the  representatives  of  the 
thirteen  eastern  colonies  were  signing  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
The  country  was  explored  by  Hernando  De  Soto  as  early  as  1540, 
and  the  Spanish  adventurers  spent  about  a  year  within  the  present 
borders  of  the  state.^     The  French  in  1699  planted  the  first  colony  on 
the  Bay  of  Biloxi,  and  about  twenty  years  later  settled  three  hundred 
colonists  at  Fort  Rosalie,  now  Natchez,  on  the  Mississippi  River.     But 
the  latter  settlement  was  surprised  and  massacred  by  the  Natchez 
Indians  in  1729,  and  thereafter  Fort  Rosalie,  under  the  French,  was 
merely  a  miUtary  post.^    The  French  settlements  on  the  gulf  shore  of 
Mississippi  were  Uttle  more  than  trade  stations  with  scanty  populations 
and  never  extended  more  than  a  few  miles  from  the  sea. 

When  Mississippi  in  1763  became  a  part  of  the  British  province  of 
West  Florida,  many  of  the  French  settlers  removed  to  Louisiana.     In 
the  Natchez  district,  which  was  later  to  become  the  nucleus  of  Mississippi 
Territory,  there  was  probably  not  a  white  settler.     The  first  permanent 
settlement  was  made  in  this  section  in  1770,  when  eighteen  families  of 
immigrants  located  in  and  around  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Natchez.^ 
These  were  the  first  of  a  stream  of  immigrants  who  began  to  pour  in 
from  the  older  colonies  to  the  new  British  possession.     Many  of  them 
were  loyalists,  who  sought  to  escape  the  embarrassment  that  was  likely 
to  ensue  from  the  brewing  trouble  between  the  older  thirteen  colonies 
and  the  mother  country.     In  1772  three  hundred  persons  from  Virginia 
and  the  Carolinas  were  settled  along  the  Mississippi,  and  three  or 
four  hundred  famiUes  were  expected  before  the  end  of  the  summer.^ 
These  expectations  probably  were  not  fully  realized,  but  several  settle- 
ments were  made  at  various  points  along  the  river  front.     By  1777, 

^  Riley,  School  History  of  Mississippi,  p.  23. 

^Hamihon,  "British  West  Florida,"  Publication  of  the  Mississippi  Historical 
Society,  VII,  399-426. 

3  Ibid.  4 //,/(/.,  p.  419. 


2  2DUCATIGN/^X  LSGISLAXION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

however,  Natchez  contained  only  ten  log  cabins  and  two  frame  houses, 
and  we  are  told  that  the  surrounding  settlements  numbered  not  more 
than  seventy-eight  famihes/ 

All  of  the  settlers  in  the  Natchez  district  during  the  seventies  were 
of  English,  Scotch,  or  Irish  extraction,  and  practically  all  were  from  the 
colonies  along  the  Atlantic.  They  brought  with  them  British  customs 
and  institutions,  more  or  less  modified  by  their  residence  in  the  eastern 
colonies.  By  this  time  nothing  recalled  the  previous  French  and 
Spanish  explorations  and  attempts  at  colonization  except  an  occasional 
name.=^  The  settlers  instituted  their  own  local  government,  for  they 
were  too  far  from  Pensacola,  the  seat  of  British  colonial  authority,  to 
keep  in  close  touch  with  that  government.  Apparently  the  Pensacola 
authorities  gave  Uttle  attention  to  these  western  settlements,  but  we 
are  informed  that  the  people  were  well  capable  of  handUng  their  own 
affairs  and  that  good  order  prevailed.^ 

When  the  Spanish  conquered  British  West  Florida  in  1779  and 
1780,  the  people  of  the  Natchez  district  submitted  to  the  conquerors, 
but  were  still  loyal  to  Britain.  In  1781  they  revolted,  captured  the 
Spanish  garrison,  raised  the  British  flag,  and  awaited  the  expected 
assistance  from  the  mother  country.  The  revolt  was  quickly  put  down, 
and  many  of  the  settlers,  fearing  punishment  from  the  Spaniards,  fled 
from  the  country  to  the  struggling  thirteen  states.  The  Spanish,  how- 
ever, accorded  liberal  treatment  to  those  who  remained,  and  especially 
favored  the  Irish  settlers,  who  were  Catholics.^ 

Very  httle  Spanish  immigration  drifted  into  the  Natchez  district 
during  the  Spanish  regime,  and  most  that  came  seemed  to  be  congre- 
gated in  that  portion  of  Natchez  called  "Spanish  town."5  The  total 
population  of  the  district,  according  to  a  census  taken  by  the  Spanish 
in  1780,  was  only  2,679.^  Toward  the  close  of  the  Spanish  period  there 
was  considerable  immigration  from  Kentucky  and  Tennessee — American 
settlers,  who  came  in  anticipation  of  the  surrender  of  the  district  to  the 
United  States.  When,  in  1798,  the  Spanish  reluctantly  gave  way  to 
American  authority  and  the  Mississippi  Territory  was  organized,  the 
total  population  could  not  have  been  much  more  than  5,000,  mcluding 
slaves.     Two  years  later,  when  the  first  United  States  census  was  taken, 

^  Hamilton,  op.  cit.,  p.  420.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  423.  3  Ibid.,  p.  419. 

4  Monette,  History  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  I,  468. 

s  Claiborne,  Mississippi  as  a  Province,  Territory,  and  Slate,  I,  527. 

^  Monette,  op.  cit.,  p.  478. 


INFLUENCES  AFFECTING  LEGISLATION  3 

there  were  in  the  Natchez  district  4,446  whites,  2,995  slaves,  and  159 
free  colored  persons.' 

Mississippi  Territory  as  originally  organized  was  a  long  narrow 
strip  between  the  thirty-first  parallel  of  latitude  and  the  line  drawn  due 
east  from  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  River,  extending  from  the  Mississippi 
River  on  the  west  to  the  Chattahoochee  River  on  the  east.  It  included 
the  southern  portion  of  the  present  states  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama, 
but  excluded  the  coastal  regions  of  both.  The  territory  was  divided 
into  three  counties— Adams,  Pickering,  and  Washington — but  only  the 
first  two  had  white  settlements  within  the  present  state  of  Mississippi. 
Washington  County,  or  the  ''Washington  district"  as  it  was  frequently 
called,  was  for  the  most  part  in  the  possession  of  the  Choctaw  nation. 
The  few  white  settlements  were  within  the  present  lunits  of  Alabama 
along  the  banks  of  the  Tombigbee  River.^ 

We  have  in  a  brief  way  traced  the  history  of  the  Natchez  country 
down  to  the  beginning  of  the  period  we  shall  attempt  to  study.  We 
have  seen  that  the  country  was  an  uninhabited  wilderness  until  within 
a  few  years  of  the  organization  of  the  territory,  and  that  two  years 
after  the  territorial  government  was  set  up  the  total  population,  includ- 
ing slaves,  was  only  seven  thousand.  With  these  facts  before  us  we 
need  not  be  surprised  that  nothing  had  been  accomphshed  toward 
public  education  before  the  Spanish  surrendered  the  country.  If  there 
were  any  schools,  they  were  private  institutions  or  under  the  control  of 
the  Catholic  church,  and  no  records  of  them  have  been  available.  As 
influences  affecting  the  educational  legislation  in  Mississippi,  the  French 
and  Spanish  are  negligible. 

It  shall  be  our  purpose  in  the  succeeding  paragraphs  to  discover 
some  of  the  positive  factors  that  have  affected  the  educational  history 
of  Mississippi  and  that  may  help  us  to  understand  the  facts  revealed  in 
the  succeeding  chapters. 

Perhaps  the  most  serious  obstacle  that  confronted  the  people  of 
Mississippi  throughout  the  entire  period  that  we  shall  study  was  the 
sparseness  of  population.  When  Governor  Claiborne  in  1S02  made  his 
recommendation  for  a  "system  of  public  education"  and  a  "seminary 
of  learning,"  he  was  addressing  the  representatives  of  a  citizenship  that 
in  numbers  would  not  make  now  a  respectable  rural  county.  By  18 10 
the  population  of  the  western  half  of  the  territory  (the  portion  that  was 

1  Rowland,  The  Official  and  Statistical  Register  of  the  State  of  Mississippi,  191  7, 
pp.  719-21. 

2  See  map  of  Mississippi  Territor>-  in  1S02  on  p.  iS. 


4  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

to  become  the  state  of  Mississippi  in  1817)  had  increased  to  31,306,  of 
whom  nearly  one-half  were  slaves.  Ten  years  later  the  United  States 
census  showed  a  population  of  75,448- 

Notwithstanding  the  increase  of  nearly  150  per  cent  in  the  popula- 
tion between  1810  and  1820,  the  significant  fact  confronts  us  that  there 
was  no  increase  in  the  density  of  population.  The  increase  is  accounted 
for  in  small  part  by  the  Florida  annexation  of  181 2,  and  more  largely 
by  immigration  into  new  territory  opened  to  settlers  by  treaties  with 
the  Indians.  While  the  population  of  the  territory  increased  nearly 
150  per  cent,  Adams,  the  oldest  and  most  densely  settled  county,  showed 
an  increase  of  only  20  per  cent,  and  this  small  increase  was  wholly  in 
slave  population.  There  was  an  actual  decrease  of  250  in  the  white 
population  of  the  county,  and  there  was  no  decrease  in  the  area  of  the 
county  during  the  decade.^ 

If  we  study  the  census  figures  for  the  next  decade  we  find  that  the 
same  thing  took  place.  The  white  population  increased  from  42,176  to 
70,443.  During  the  decade  the  central  portion  of  the  state,  which  was 
ceded  to  the  United  States  by  the  Choctaws  in  1820,  was  opened  to  white 
settlers.  Into  the  new  counties  made  from  this  cession  went  23,266 
white  people  out  of  the  total  increase  of  28,266,  leaving  a  gain  of  only 
4,945  for  all  the  older  counties  of  the  state. 

Again  in  the  next  decade  we  find  the  same  phenomenon  for  the 
third  time.  The  population  of  the  state  showed  a  rapid  increase  between 
1830  and  1840,  rising  to  179,074  whites.  But  again  the  increase  went 
into  territory  newly  opened  and  did  not  bring  about  an  increase  in 
density  of  population.  The  Choctaws  in  1830  ceded  what  was  left  of 
their  country  to  the  federal  government,  and  in  1832  the  Chickasaws, 
also,  gave  up  their  lands.  The  two  nations  were  removed  to  Indian 
Territory,  thus  opening  the  entire  state  of  Mississippi  to  white  settlers. 
A  great  tide  of  immigration  flowed  into  the  state.  Nineteen  new  counties 
were  created  out  of  the  Choctaw  purchase,  and  ten  from  the  Chickasaw 
purchase.  In  1840  the  white  population  of  these  twenty-nine  new 
counties  was  94,625,  representing  all  but  4^449  of  the  109,000  increase 
during  the  ten  years. 

It  is  apparent  that  the  growth  in  population  in  Mississippi  from  18 10 
to  1840  is  wholly  explained  by  the  occupation  of  new  lands,  and  that 

'The  figures  in  this  and  the  succeeding  paragraphs  are  from  "Statistics  for 
Mississippi,"  prepared  especially  by  the  United  States  Census  Bureau  for  the  Missis- 
sippi Department  of  Archives  and  History,  and  are  to  be  found  in  convenient  form  in 
The  Official  and  Statistical  Register  of  the  State  of  Mississippi,  191 7,  PP-  719-24- 


Indian  Cession  Map  of  IMississippi 
A— The  Old  Natchez  District.  D— Chickasaw  Cession  of  1816. 

B— First  Choctaw  Cession,  1805.  E— Second  Choctaw  Cession,  1820. 

C— Florida  Annexation,  181 2.  F— Third  Choctaw  Cession,  1830. 

G — Chickasaw  Cession  of  1832. 


6  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

so  far  as  white  population  is  concerned,  the  state  was  as  thinly  settled 
in  1840  as  it  was  in  1810/  The  apparent  increase  in  density  of  popula- 
tion in  the  older  counties,  when  the  aggregate  census  figures  are  taken, 
is  due  to  the  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of  slaves,  which  had  no  more 
bearing  upon  the  educational  situation  than  the  increase  in  Hve  stock 
or  any  other  form  of  property. 

The  full  meaning  of  the  sparseness  of  white  population  in  Mississippi 
is  brought  out  when  we  consider  the  density  of  population  to  the  square 
mile  and  compare  the  figures  with  those  for  other  states.  In  1840 
there  were  in  Mississippi  only  3.82  white  persons  to  the  square  mile. 
There  was  a  considerable  increase  in  density  during  the  two  decades 
immediately  following,  but  in  i860  there  were  only  8. 19  persons  to  the 
mile.  A  comparison  of  these  figures  with  the  density  of  population  in 
other  new  states  of  the  west  is  given  in  Table  I.     These  figures  make  it 


TABLE  I 

A  CoiiPARisox  OF  Density  of  White  Population  in  Certain  Western  States 


State 

1840 

1850 

i860 

Ohio    

38.08 

20.07 

8.52 

3.82 

49-55 

29.24 

15-37 

6.32 

58.54 

Indiana                                  

39-94 

Illinois                                  

30.89 

Mississippi                 

8.19 

evident  that  Mississippi  had  to  deal  with  a  factor  that  most  seriously 
hindered  her  educational  development. 

The  study  of  the  population  of  Mississippi  brings  to  our  attention 
one  fact  that  to  some  extent  lessened  the  retarding  effect  of  the  sparse- 
ness of  the  population.  In  so  far  as  racial  origin  is  concerned,  the 
people  of  Mississippi  were  from  early  territorial  days  a  homogeneous 
group.  After  the  organization  of  Mississippi  Territory  the  Spanish 
and  other  foreign  elements,  which  were  concentrated  chiefly  in  Natchez, 
rapidly  disappeared.^  Perhaps  the  most  noteworthy  instance  of  trans- 
planting old  country  ideals  and  customs  into  the  new  American  territory 
is  found  in  a  small  Scotch  settlement  in  Wayne  County.  This  com- 
munity used  the  Gaehc  language  in  their  daily  speech  and  in  their 

^  The  gradual  extension  of  white  settlements  from  the  Natchez  district  over  the 
entire  area  of  the  present  state  is  indicated  in  the  Indian  Cession  Map  on  p.  3, 
which  is  adapted  from  Riley's  School  History  of  Mississippi,  p.  150. 

*  Claiborne,  op.  ciL,  p.  530. 


INFLUENCES  AFFECTING  LEGISLATION  7 

school  from  its  foundation  in  1812  to  1820.'  These  Scotch-Americans, 
however  in  their  manner  of  life  and  social  ideals  were  not  antagonistic 
to  American  principles.  As  the  number  of  English-speaking  people 
around  them  increased  they  abandoned  their  dialect,  mingled  with 
the  other  settlers,  and  became  the  founders  of  the  sturdy  families 
of  the  McRaes,  McArthurs,  McDougalds,  McLaughlins,  McDaniels, 
McDonalds,  and  McLaurins.  . 

The  advantage  that  homogeneity  of  population  brought  to  Missis- 
sippi was  perhaps  entirely  counteracted  by  the  educational  ideals  and 
customs  that  they  brought  with  them.     There  was  a  sprmkhng  ot 
settlers  from  the  North  and  East,  but  the  great  bulk  of  immigration 
came  from  the  Carolinas,  Virginia,  Georgia,  and  Tennessee,^    They  had 
no  acquaintance  with  public  elementary  schools,  nor  did  they  conceive 
public  education  to  be  a  duty  of  the  state.    They  were  imbued  with  the 
ideals  and  customs  of  the  Old  South,  and  they  brought  these  ideals  and 
customs  along  with  their  families  and  slaves  to  the  new  Southwest 
They  did  believe  in  education,  but  they  conceived  of  that  as  a  duty  of 
the  parent  to  his  child.     To  be  sure,  if  the  parents  were  dead  or  too 
poor  to  educate  the  child,  then,  they  thought,  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
state  to  stand  in  loco  parentis. 

The  great  obstacle  to  the  development  of  a  system  of  education 
found  in  the  sparseness  of  the  population  was  augmented  by  the  manner 
of  life  and  the  occupations  of  the  people.  Except  for  the  very  early 
attempts  to  cultivate  tobacco  and  indigo,  the  chief  industry  o  Missis- 
sippi as  a  territory  and  as  a  state  has  been  the  production  of  cotton 
It  is  not  necessary  to  describe  here  in  detail  the  cotton  plantations  with 
the  one  "big  house"  of  the  master,  the  group  of  cabins  occupied  by  the 
slaves,  the  broad  acres  of  cultivated  land,  encircled  by  virgin  forests, 
which  shut  off  the  plantation  from  the  outside  world  and  made  it  a 
little  state  of  its  own.  The  difficulty  of  placing  schools  so  that  they 
could  serve  the  big  plantations  scattered  along  the  creeks  and  rivers  is 
apparent  without  comment. 

In  the  southeastern  counties,  which  did  not  produce  much  cotton, 
the  situation  was  even  less  favorable.  The  inhabitants  of  these  counties 
during  the  territorial  period  and  early  years  of  statehood  were  engaged 
chiefly  in  raising  cattle,  which  lived  on  the  "cane  brakes  and  coarse 
grass  along  the  creeks.  With  stock-raising  they  combined  the  pursuit 
.  Wilkins,  "Early  Times  in  \Va>nc  County,"  PMkalhn  of  Ihc  MhsissipH  Ills- 
torical  Society,  VI,  26S-7--  . 

^  Census  of  the  United  States,  The  Eighth:   iS6o,  volume  on  ''Population,    p.  272. 


8  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

of  hunting/  These  counties  throughout  the  period  covered  by  this 
study  were  even  more  thinly  settled  than  the  others,  had  less  wealth, 
and,  apparently,  less  interest  in  educational  matters. 

The  differences  in  occupation  and  in  wealth  of  different  sections  was 
another  retarding  factor  in  the  educational  situation  of  the  state.  The 
''piny  woods"  counties  of  the  southeast  were  next  to  the  Natchez  dis- 
trict in  the  order  of  settlement,  but,  on  account  of  poverty  of  soil,  they 
lagged  considerably  behind  the  other  counties  of  the  state  in  wealth  and 
population.  Furthermore  until  about  1840  there  was  always  a  frontier 
in  Mississippi — a  new  country  to  be  opened  up  and  settled.  Naturally, 
there  was  a  considerable  difference  between  the  wealth  of  the  new 
section  and  that  of  the  old,  the  greater  wealth  being  concentrated  more 
or  less  in  the  older  section  of  the  state.  This  difference  in  wealth  is 
reflected  rather  clearly  in  the  ownership  of  slaves,  for  the  entire  state 
was  almost  exclusively  agricultural.  For  instance  in  1830,  ten  years 
from  the  date  of  the  second  Choctaw  cession,  the  counties  formed  from 
this  territory  had  acquired  a  population  of  23,266,  but  had  only  12,000 
slaves.  During  the  same  decade  the  older  counties,  while  they  increased 
less  than  5,000  in  white  population,  added  to  their  wealth  by  increasing 
the  number  of  their  slaves  from  32,814  to  53,665.  A  decade  later  we 
find  twenty-nine  new  counties  formed  from  the  Indian  cessions  of  1830 
and  1832  with  a  population  of  about  95,000  owning  less  than  59,000 
slaves,  while  the  older  counties  with  a  white  population  of  84,000  own 
136,000  slaves.^  That  this  difference  of  wealth  persisted  throughout  our 
period  is  indicated  by  the  figures  in  Table  II.  The  table  gives  the  white 
and  slave  population  and  the  value  of  the  manufactured  products  of 
three  groups  of  counties  in  1850.  The  first  group  is  representative  of 
the  older  cotton-producing  counties;  the  second  group  of  the  new 
counties  of  northeast  Mississippi;  and  the  third  group,  of  the  ''piny 
woods"  or  "white  counties"  of  the  southeastern  part  of  the  state. 

There  was  a  manifest  tendency  in  these  different  sections  of  the 
state  to  assume  different  positions  toward  school  matters.  This  ten- 
dency was  due  in  part  to  the  lack  of  easy  means  of  communication 
between  the  different  parts  of  the  state.  There  were  few  highways  in 
the  state  and  few  navigable  rivers  aside  from  the  Mississippi.  Before 
the  coming  of  the  railroads,  travel  was  limited  chiefly  to  the  stage- 
coach and  private  horse-drawn  vehicles.  The  early  roads  were  little 
more  than  trails  made  by  felling  the  forest  trees  to  enable  teams  to 
pass  through. 

^  Riley,  op.  cit.,  p.  133.  *  Rowland,  op.  cit.,  191 7,  pp.  719,  721. 


INFLUENCES  AFFECTING  LEGISLATION  9 

In  the  preceding  paragraphs  the  people  of  Mississippi  have  been 
pictured  as  typical  southerners.  In  a  sense  they  were,  but  there  seems 
to  have  been  one  point  of  view  or  ideal  which  was  acquired  largely 
after  they  reached  their  new  homes,  and  which  seems  to  distinguish 
them  from  kinsmen  and  friends  left  behind  in  the  Southern  Atlantic 
states.     This  was  the  distinctly  western  idea  of  the  supremacy  of  the 

TABLE  II* 

Population,  Slaves,  and  Manufactures  in  Fifteen  Counties  in  1850 


Counties 


Whites 


Slaves 


Value  of  Manu- 
factured 
Products 


Old  cotton  counties: 

Adams 

Jefferson 

Claiborne 

Wilkinson 

Warren 

Total 

New  counties  of  the  northeast: 

Tippah 

Tishomingo 

Pontotoc 

Lafayette 

Itawamba 

Total 

"Piny  woods"  (southeastern  Mississippi): 

Covington 

Jones 

•   Marion 

Perry 

Greene 

Total 


3,948 
2,634 
3,449 
3,624 

5,996 


19,651 


15,807 
13,528 
12,136 
8,346 
11,395 


61,212 


2,222 
1,887 
2,215 
1,679 
1,379 


9,382 


14,395 
10,493 
11,450 
13,260 
12,096 


207,850 
46,910 
66,919 
36,600 

280,550 


61,694 


4,928 
1,961 
4,968 
5,378 
2,127 


$638,829 


S  85,497 
67,250 
61,205 

125,365 
34,090 


19,362 


1,114 

274 

2,195 

749 
63S 


$373,407 
S  11,137 


4,970 


$  16,637 


*  The  figures  were  compiled  for  The  Official  and  Statistical  Register  of  the  Stale  of  Mississippi  of  191 7 
by  the  United  States  Census  Bureau.     See  pp.  719-22,  734-35- 

local  community  in  government.  It  was  that  idea  of  democracy  that 
meant  the  reservation  to  local  bodies  of  all  power  that  could  possibly 
be  exercised  by  them.  This  ideal  is  everywhere  evident  in  the  legisla- 
tion on  school  matters.  It  manifests  itself  in  the  vast  amount  of  per- 
missive legislation  which  left  the  final  decision  on  educational  questions 
to  local  communities.  Township  control  of  schools  was  preferred  to 
county  control.  A  great  deal  of  the  educational  legislation  is  special 
legislation  for  individual  townships,  which  evidently  was  initiated  by 


I.O  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

the  people,  and  often  a  provision  for  a  referendum  vote  is  contained  in 
the  acts. 

It  is  clear  that  the  development  of  any  general  system  of  publicly 
supported  common  schools,  if  it  should  be  accomplished  in  Mississippi, 
must  overcome  numerous  serious  obstacles.  There  were  from  early 
territorial  times,  however,  two  important  factors  in  the  situation  that 
were  favorable  to  the  establishment  of  common  schools.  One  of  these 
factors  was  the  presence  in  Mississippi  at  all  times  of  public  leaders 
who  were  strongly  in  favor  of  a  publicly  supported  system  of  schools. 
Scarcely  had  the  new  territorial  government  been  organized  before 
these  people  were  memoriaHzing  Congress  in  the  interest  of  education. 
On  February  2,  1798,  John  Henderson  and  other  citizens  signed  the 
first  memorial  of  this  kind,  praying  for  aid  from  the  general  govern- 
ment to  estabHsh  and  support  a  regular  ministry  of  the  gospel  and 
schools  for  the  education  of  the  youth.'  Most  of  the  messages  of  the 
state  and  territorial  governors  from  1802  until  the  state  was  on  the 
threshold  of  the  Civil  War  contained  recommendations  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  schools.  Time  and  again  these  messages  contained  recom- 
mendations for  a  state  tax  for  the  support  of  common  schools,  and  at 
least  one  governor  made  this  question  an  issue  in  his  successful  campaign 
for  his  office.^ 

The  other  most  influential  factor  favorable  to  the  public  schools 
was  the  decision  of  the  federal  government  to  extend  its  pohcy  of  grant- 
ing pubhc  lands  for  the  endowment  of  education  to  "the  territory  south 
of  the  state  of  Tennessee."  The  sixteenth  section  of  each  township 
was  reserved  for  school  purposes.  By  the  time  Mississippi  had  become 
a  state  many  of  these  sections  had  attained  a  value  that  enabled  the 
townships  to  build  and  partly  support  one  or  more  common  schools. 
In  at  least  one  township  of  the  state  a  free  school  has  been  maintained 
constantly  since  182 1  chiefly  by  funds  derived  from  its  sixteenth  sec- 
tion.^ In  most  cases,  however,  the  proceeds  from  school  lands  were 
not  sufficient  to  maintain  a  school,  but  they  encouraged  the  idea  of 
township  schools,  partly,  if  not  wholly,  supported  by  public  funds. 

After  1840  there  was  a  distinct  improvement  in  the  school  situation 
in  the  state.  By  this  time  the  whole  state  had  been  settled  and  the 
new  counties  were  as  thickly  populated  as  the  old  counties,  and  some 
of  them  more  so.     There  was  no  longer  a  frontier  in  the  state.     The 

^  Claiborne,  op.  cit.,  I,  202. 

Cluskey,  Speeches,  Messages,  and  Other  Writings  of  A.  G.  Brown,  p.  54. 
3  Riley,  op.  cit.,  p.  174. 


INFLUENCES  AFFECTING  LEGISLATION  II 

density  of  the  white  population,  as  has  been  shown,  increased  between 
1840  and  i860  from  3.82  to  8. 19  to  the  square  mile.  The  building  of 
railroads  and  improvement  of  navigable  streams  provided  better  means 
of  communication  and  travel,  and  thus  brought  the  different  sections 
of  the  state  into  closer  contact.  Small  towns  and  hamlets  sprung  up 
along  the  railroads  and  at  county  seats,  each  with  its  common  school, 
which  was  frequently  the  ''primary  department"  of  a  town  academy. 
Township  and  county  funds  were  always  desired  and  frequently  obtain- 
able to  sustain  or  partly  sustain  these  ''primary  departments,"  leaving 
usually  small  tuition  rates  to  be  paid  by  the  parents  to  supplement  the 
public  funds.  In  these  towns  and  villages  the  idea  of  public  free  schools 
found  a  favorable  situation  and  made  good  headway. 

Another  favorable  factor  for  the  development  of  schools  during  the 
last  two  decades  preceding  the  Civil  War  was  the  almost  unbroken 
prosperity  of  the  period.  The  panic  of  1837  and  financial  distress  that 
followed  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  state,  but  the  recovery  was  rapid. 
And  this  need  not  be  surprising  in  view  of  Governor  McNutt's  state- 
ment in  his  inaugural  address  in  1838  that  the  annual  exports  of  the 
sparsely  populated  state  were  one-sixth  of  those  of  the  entire  nation.^ 
Land  values  recovered  from  the  blow  of  1837  and  gradually  increased. 
The  cotton  crops  of  the  state  were  abundant  and  usually  brought  fair 
prices.  Year  by  year  the  size  of  the  crop  was  increased  and  the  number 
of  slaves  increased  proportionately.  The  popular  slogan  seemed  to  be, 
"Make  more  cotton  to  get  more  money  to  buy  more  negroes  to  make 
more  cotton,"  ad  infinitum.^  The  general  prosperity  of  these  ante- 
bellum days  is  reflected  in  the  messages  of  the  governors  of  the  period. 
In  1850  Governor  Matthews  commented  on  the  prosperous  condition 
of  the  state  and  used  it  as  a  basis  for  his  argument  for  a  system  of  com- 
mon schools  supported  by  a  state  tax.^  Similarly,  Governor  McRae  in 
1858  said,  "The  growing  wealth  and  increasing  population  of  our 
state  ....  induces  me  to  suggest  to  the  Legislature  the  propriety  of 
providing  by  law  for  the  appointment  of  a  State  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction,"  etc.^ 

The  situation  in  Mississippi  during  our  period  of  study,  as  it  has 
been  set  forth  in  these  pages,  was  evidently  more  favorable  for  the 
growth  of  private  academies  and  higher  institutions  of  learning  than 
for  the  development  of  a  system  of  free  elementary  schools.  As  we 
shall  see  in  a  later  chapter,  the  secondary  schools  were  comparatively 

» Ihid.,  p.  240.  3  Senate  Journal,  1S50,  pp.  20-21. 

'  Ibid.,  pp.  238-39.  "  Ibid.,  1S58,  p.  2^. 


12  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

numerous,  liberally  supported,  and,  during  seasons  of  prosperity, 
flourished  vigorously  in  the  state.  The  chief  hindrance  to  these  schools 
seems  to  have  been  the  difficulty  of  securing  competent  teachers.  There 
was  so  much  more  money  to  be  made  in  farming  than  in  teaching  that 
it  was  practically  impossible  to  obtain  native  teachers.  Those  imported 
were  frequently  not  the  best  that  the  older  states  had,  and  sometimes 
were  utterly  incompetent  and  morally  unfit. ^  There  were,  however,  a 
great  many  excellent  teachers  who  came  from  other  sections  and  founded 
schools  that  were  great  forces  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  state,  but  there 
was  difficulty  in  keeping  the  men  who  came  into  the  state  from  aban- 
doning their  profession  for  more  lucrative  employment.  An  interesting 
letter  written  by  Rev.  Morey  of  Mount  Sylvan  Academy  in  1847  throws 
a  side-light  on  this  phase  of  the  school  situation.  Writing  to  friends  in 
the  north  concerning  the  prospects  for  northern  teachers  in  Mississippi, 
he  said: 

Come  determined  to  teach,  not  to  speculate  or  marry;  our  places  for 
golden  investment  are  all  occupied  and  our  heiresses  all  engaged.  Not  to 
farm  it  or  to  preach;  we  know  how  to  raise  cotton  better  than  you  could, 
and  we  have  a  fair  supply  of  preachers.  Not  to  become  poHticians  or  lecturers 
on  phrenology;  the  science  of  government  is  wonderfully  well  known  here, 
and  phrenology  is  not  popular.  In  short,  we  need  teachers,  not  peddlers,  nor 
doctors,  nor  lawyers,  nor  Hterary  pretenders.^ 

With  reference  to  higher  education  there  was  also  a  hindering  factor 
in  the  tendency  of  parents  to  send  their  boys  out  of  the  state  for  their 
education.  This  was  due  in  many  cases  to  the  attachment  which  the 
parents  felt  for  schools  in  the  states  from  which  they  came  and  some- 
times to  the  greater  prestige  of  the  colleges  of  the  older  states.  As  a 
consequence,  Jefferson  College,  the  several  denominational  colleges, 
and,  later,  the  state  university  did  not  receive  the  support  that  they 
merited.  The  private  colleges  and  seminaries  for  girls,  however,  were 
more  freely  patronized,  and  these  became  very  numerous. 

'  "Report  of  State  School  Commissioner,"  Senate  Journal,  1850,  p.  154- 

2 Mayo,  "The  American  Common  School  in  the  Southern  States,  during  the 

First  Half  of  the  RepubHc,  179(^1840,"  Report  oj  the  United  States  Commission  of 

Education,  i8gj-g6,  p.  307, 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  GENERAL  TENDENCIES  AND  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  EDUCA- 
TIONAL LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI  BEFORE  1860 

COMMON  SCHOOLS 

There  are  five  outstanding  characteristics  to  be  observed  in  the 
legislation  of  Mississippi  relative  to  common  schools  prior  to  the  Civil 
War     These  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows: 

First  the  development  of  township  common  schools,  built  usually 
upon  the  sixteenth  sections,  with  funds  secured  from  the  rents  from 
these  sections  or  income  from  the  fund  derived  from  the  schoo  sections 
and  often  partially  supported  from  the  same  source.  Usually  there 
was  only  one  school  to  the  township.' 

Second,  the  tendency  to  make  the  township  the  unit  for  control  of 
schools      From  1824  to  1846  this  was  the  universal  policy  throughout 
the  state     The  township  trustees,  elected  by  the  resident  heads  ot 
famihes  of  the  township,  were  given  ahnost  complete  freedom  in  the 
management  of  the  sixteenth  sections,  the  disposition  of  the  income 
therefrom,  and  the  control  of  schools,  supported  or  partially  supported 
therefrom.    The  most  noteworthy  characteristic  of  the  great  mass  of 
legislation  relative  to  the  school  lands  and  township  schools  was  its 
permissive  character.     Trustees  were  continually  given  authority  to  do 
this  or  that,  but  there  is  practically  no  compulsion.'    The  attempt  m 
1846  to  make  the  county  the  unit  in  school  control  aroused  a  great  deal 
of  opposition,  which  finally  resulted  in  a  division  of  the  state  between 
the  two  plans.     The  greater  part  of  the  state,  apparently,  returned  to 
the  system  of  township  control.'  . 

Third  a  general  absence  of  central  control  of  the  local  educationa 
activities-dosely  correlated  with  the  tendency  to  magnify  the  small 
units  in  the  management  of  schools.  An  act  of  iS2i  attempted  to  set 
up  a  central  state  board  with  certain  administrative  duties  and  to 
provide  for  the  supervision  of  schools  by  county  officials,  but  the  duties 
of  the  state  board  after  1S24  were  limited  to  the  education  of  the  poor 

I  See  detailed  discussion  in  chap,  iv,  pp.  29-36. 

^  Ibid. 

3  See  Tables  X,  XI,  and  XII  in  chap.  x. 

13 


14  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

children,  and  the  supervisory  functions  of  its  appointees  in  the  several 
counties  were  nullified  by  the  lack  of  authority  to  enforce  any  recom- 
mendations they  might  choose  to  make.  The  duties  of  the  state  school 
commissioner,  an  office  created  in  1846  and  filled  by  the  secretary  of 
state,  were  wholly  clerical  and  advisory/ 

Fourth,  the  education  of  orphans  and  poor  children  at  the  expense  of 
the  state.  From  182 1  until  1839  the  state  provided  for  the  payment 
of  the  tuition  and  the  purchase  of  books  and  other  school  necessities 
for  orphan  children  through  the  Literary  Fund.^  For  a  few  years  this 
responsibility  was  thrown  upon  the  townships.  After  1848  state  laws 
provided  that  those  counties  that  did  not  maintain  free  schools  should 
provide  free  tuition  for  poor  children  and  orphans  from  certain  revenue 
appropriated  by  the  state  to  the  county  school  funds.^ 

Fifth,  a  general  reluctance  to  impose  direct  taxation  for  common 
schools.  Indirect  taxation  through  the  appropriation  of  escheats  to 
the  state  and  all  fines  imposed  in  the  courts  was  resorted  to  in  182 1 
and  became  the  fixed  policy  of  the  state.  After  1846  license  fees  to 
retailers  of  Hquors,  keepers  of  billiard  tables,  brokers,  and  peddlers, 
and,  later,  the  proceeds  from  sales  of  estrays  and  runaway  slaves,  were 
also  appropriated  to  common  schools.-*  A  permissive  direct  tax  was 
authorized  in  1846,  and  the  boards  of  police  in  many  counties  levied 
school  taxes,  but  there  was  at  no  time  during  the  period  of  this  study  a 
compulsory  statewide  direct  tax  for  schools. 

The  general  result  of  these  policies  was  that  only  in  very  rare 
instances  the  trustees  of  townships  maintained  a  free  school  before  1846. 
In  some  townships  there  were  no  schools  even  partly  maintained  by  the 
sixteenth  sections,  and  in  some  cases  the  people  did  not  go  through  the 
formality  of  electing  trustees  to  care  for  the  school  lands.  More  fre- 
quently, it  seems,  the  township  trustees  established  a  township  school, 
employed  a  teacher,  and  devoted  whatever  income  the  township  had 
from  its  school  section  to  the  payment  of  a  part  of  the  teacher's  salary. 
The  remainder  of  the  salary  was  collected  from  the  patrons  of  the  school. 
If  there  were  any  indigent  children  in  the  township,  the  tuition  rates 
for  these  were  paid  out  of  the  Literary  Fund  by  county  commissioners 
appointed  for  that  purpose. 

The  township  schools,  however  inadequate,  served  one  good  purpose. 
They  were  nurseries  of  the  idea  of  publicly  supported  common  schools 
among  a  people  who  had  had  no  experience  with  such  schools.     As 

^  See  chap,  x,  p.  no. 

2  For  the  act  of  1821  see  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1821,  pp.  27-34. 

3  See  Table  III,  chap.  v.  "  See  pp.  119-20. 


EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  BEFORE  1860  15 

Mississippi  began  to  recover  from  the  effects  of  the  panic  of  1837,  the 
nation-wide  revival  of  interest  in  common  schools  made  itself  felt  in  the 
state  and  manifested  itself  in  a  growing  demand  for  a  free  school  system. 
An  advocate  of  public  free  schools  was  elected  governor  in  1843,  but 
the  legislature  elected  at  the  same  time  disregarded  his  recommenda- 
tions for  a  system  of  schools.^  Having  been  re-elected  in  1845,  the 
governor  sent  to  the  legislature  a  detailed  plan  for  a  system  of  schools 
modelled  upon  the  laws  of  Massachusetts,  and  enclosed  with  his  message 
a  personal  letter  from  Horace  Mann  describing  the  workings  of  the 
Massachusetts  system.^ 

The  legislature  adopted  the  uniform  school  system,  after  inserting 
certain  provisos  of  a  permissive  character  that  forbade  the  possibility 
of  the  system  becoming  uniform.  When  opposition  developed,  both 
from  those  who  wanted  an  effective  school  system  and  from  those  who 
opposed  free  schools,  the  succeeding  legislatures,  in  accordance  with  the 
general  policy  of  deferring  to  local  wishes,  passed  numerous  acts,  provid- 
ing different  school  laws  for  different  counties  and  groups  of  counties.^ 
Thus  the  "uniform"  pubHc-school  system  was  shattered  like  a  broken 
mirror. 

The  adoption  of  the  common  school  law  of  1846  brought  a  distinct 
gain  to  the  educational  conditions  of  the  state,  which  was  not  all  lost 
in  the  disintegration  of  the  system.  Some  of  the  more  progressive 
counties,  in  fact,  provided  better  schools  under  the  special  acts  than 
they  could  have  secured  under  the  general  state  law.  Furthermore, 
the  extension  of  indirect  taxation  under  the  act  of  1846  by  the  appropria- 
tion of  Hcense  fees  from  peddlers,  brokers,  keepers  of  billiard  tables, 
and  retailers  of  liquors  to  common  school  funds,  was  retained  almost 
without  exception  in  all  counties  of  the  state.^  Distinct  progress  was  also 
made  in  some  counties  in  the  matter  of  direct  taxation  for  schools.  The 
pohcy  of  making  an  appropriation  from  the  state  treasury  to  assist 
those  counties  willing  to  tax  themselves  for  common  schools,  under 
which  $300,000  was  distributed,  was  probably  another  resultant  of  the 
movement  which  caused  the  passage  of  the  act  of  1846. 

SECONDARY  AND  HIGHER  EDUCATION 

The  general  policy  of  Mississippi  was  to  leave  to  private  initiative 
to  provide  means  of  secondary  instruction.  Academies  were  incorpor- 
ated, usually  with  self-perpetuating  local  boards  of  trustees,  who,  with 
few  restrictions,  were  left  to  manage  and  maintain  their  institutions  as 

^  See  chap,  v,  pp.  41.  ^  Senate  Journal,  1846,  pp.  64-66. 

3  See  detailed  discussion  of  this  legislation  in  chap.  v.         -»  See  Table  XV,  chap.  xi. 


l6  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

seemed  best  to  them.  In  a  few  instances  provision  was  made  for  partial 
support  of  academies,  and  for  a  period  of  seven  years,  1839-46,  public 
funds  were  appropriated  throughout  the  state  to  such  institutions.^ 

The  poHcy  of  the  state  toward  higher  education  differed  little  from 
its  attitude  toward  secondary  education,  except  in  its  dealings  with  the 
state  imiversity  after  its  incorporation  in  1844.  After  the  incorporation 
of  the  university  the  state  continued  to  hold  in  trust  for  it  the  Seminary 
Fund,  which  was  the  result  of  the  sale  of  the  federal  land  grant  to  the 
state  for  a  ''seminary  of  learning."  To  maintain  the  university  the 
legislature  adopted  the  plan  of  making  annual  appropriations.  As  a 
consequence  of  this  financial  dependence,  although  it  was  a  self- 
perpetuating  corporate  body,  the  board  of  trustees  were  kept  in  vital 
relationship  to  the  legislature.^ 

EDUCATION  FOR  SPECIAL  CLASSES 

One  of  the  early  educational  policies  of  Mississippi  had  for  its  object 
the  schooling  of  orphans.  Under  its  laws  of  apprenticeship,  masters 
were  required  to  teach  their  apprentices  ''to  read,  write,  and  cypher." 
After  1825  an  Orphans'  Home  in  the  city  of  Natchez  was  supported  in 
part  by  state  appropriations. ^  In  1848  the  school  for  the  blind  was 
incorporated,  and  six  years  later  the  institution  for  the  deaf  and  dumb 
was  estabhshed.  Both  of  these  institutions  were  supported  almost 
entirely  by  appropriations  from  the  state  treasury.^ 

GENERAL   SITUATION 

The  final  result  of  the  educational  legislation  in  Mississippi  at  the 
close  of  the  period  of  study  might  be  stated  briefly  as  follows: 

1.  For  common  schools  there  was  a  mixed  system  of  central  and 
local  control  and  support,  with  the  emphasis  decidedly  in  favor  of  the 
local  units. 

2.  Secondary  education,  except  in  the  few  large  towns,  was  wholly 
in  the  hands  of  private  individuals,  with  only  sHght  restrictions  imposed 
upon  them  by  the  state  in  their  charters,  and,  except  in  rare  instances, 
no  public  support. 

3.  The  responsibility  for  higher  education  was  divided  between  the 
university,  supported  by  the  state,  and  the  colleges  maintained  or 
favored  by  the  religious  denominations.  It  had  become  the  fixed 
policy  of  the  legislature  to  control  and  support  the  university,  as  also 
the  institutions  for  the  bUnd  and  the  deaf  and  dumb,  through  legislative 
enactments  and  appropriations  from  year  to  year. 

'  Detailed  discussion  will  be  found  in  chap.  vi.  3  See  pp.  94-95- 

2  See  chap,  vii  for  full  discussion.  *  See  pp.  100-104. 


CHAPTER  III 

EDUCATIONAL   BEGINNINGS;    LEGISLATION   OF   THE 
TERRITORIAL  PERIOD 

The  first  territorial  government  for  Mississippi  was  organized  in 
1798  under  provisions  almost  identical  with  those  of  the  ordinance  of 
1787,  with  the  legislative  power  vested  in  the  governor  and  three  judges. 
Two  years  later  Congress  granted  the  petition  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  territory,  who  were  dissatisfied  with  Governor  Sargent, 
that  the  legislative  power  be  vested  in  a  general  assembly.  At  that 
time  the  number  of  qualified  voters  was  probably  less  than  one-fourth 
the  number  required  by  the  ordinance  for  the  modified  form  of  govern- 
ment.' The  act  of  Congress  granting  an  assembly  became  effective 
May  10,  1800,  and  provided  for  an  election  to  be  held  the  first  Monday 
of  the  following  July  for  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
The  upper  house,  or  council,  was  to  consist  of  five  members  appointed 
by  the  President  from  a  list  of  ten  nominations  made  by  the  House. 
The  assembly  was  to  meet  annually  in  December,  but  the  commissions 
for  the  members  of  the  council  did  not  arrive  in  time  for  a  session  in 
1800.  A  called  session  in  July,  1801,  failed  to  enact  any  legislation 
which  received  the  sanction  of  the  governor.  In  December,  1801,  the 
assembly  met  in  its  first  regular  session,  the  first  effective  popular 
legislative  body  of  the  territory.^ 

BEGINNINGS  OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION 

On  May  4,  1802,  Governor  Claiborne  sent  a  special  message  to 
the  general  assembly,  in  which  he  urged  the  importance  of  a  ''system 
of  public  education,"  saying: 

I  should  be  sorry  to  see  the  functions  of  the  first  legislature  chosen 
by  the  People  concluded,  until  some  provision  was  made  upon  this  inter- 
esting subject If  wealth  be  not  used  as  an  Instrument  to  promote 

knowledge  and  rational  refinement,  there  is  danger  that  it  may  produce 
Luxury  and  Vice  in  the  rising  Generation,  and  become  the  means  of  corruption 

both  Public  and  Private I  submit,  therefore,  the  propriety  of  extending 

your  legislative  cares  to  the  Education  of  our  Youth:  a  seminary  of  Learning, 
estabhshed  at  some  situation  central  to  the  Population  of  the  Territory, 

»  Rowland,  Encyclopedia  of  Mississippi  History,  II,  76. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  78. 


i8 


EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 


fostered  by  the  Government,  and  placed  under  the  direction  of  a  well  selected 
Board  of  trustees,  would,  I  flatter  myself,  become  a  fruitful  nursery  of  Science 
and  Virtue.  At  the  Seminary  our  youth  would  be  collected  into  one  com- 
munity, and  would  form  the  ties  of  intimacy,  which  would  bind  their  hearts 
in  union  and  friendship  through  hfe.^ 


MISSISSIPPI 
TERRITORY 


Mississippi  Territory  in  1802 

In  response  to  this  appeal  the  legislature  passed  "An  act  to  establish 
a  College  in  the  Mississippi  Territory,"  which  was  approved  on  May  13, 
1802— just  nine  days  after  the  governor  had  submitted  his  message  to 
the  legislature.  Thus  at  their  first  opportunity  the  elected  representa- 
tives of  the  people  of  Mississippi  manifested  their  interest  in  the 
education  of  the  youth  of  the  territory. 

The  charter  of  the  new  institution  provided  that  it  should  be  called 
Jefferson  College,  in  honor  of  ''Thomas  Jefferson,  President  of  the 
United  States  and  President  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society." 


Rowland,  Mississippi  Territorial  Archives,  I,  43i"3- 


EDUCATIONAL  BEGINNINGS  19 

Thirty-four  trustees  were  named  and  made  a  self-perpetuating  corporate 
body.  They  were  given  power  to  select  a  site  for  the  college,  "some 
healthy  and  central  situation,"  and  to  contract  for  buildings/  They 
were  authorized  to  employ  a  president  and  faculty,  to  examine  into  the 
proficiency  of  the  students,  and  to  confer  the  degrees  of  bachelor  of 
arts  and  master  of  arts.  The  trustees  were  required  to  "take  effectual 
care  that  students  of  all  denominations  be  admitted  to  equal  advantages" 
and  "receive  a  like  fair  and  generous  treatment."  The  legislature  did 
not  feel  that  the  young  territory  was  then  in  position  to  give  direct 
financial  aid  to  the  college.  It  was  given  exemption  from  taxation, 
and  the  students  and  faculty  were  exempted  from  mihtia  duty,  except 
in  case  of  actual  invasion.  The  trustees  were  authorized  to  raise  by 
lottery  the  sum  of  $10,000.  They  were  also  required  to  collect  donations 
from  the  citizens  of  the  territory  and  from  others,  and  to  inscribe  the 
names  of  the  donors  and  their  donations  in  a  book  to  be  preserved  in 
the  archives  of  the  college  in  order  that  posterity  might  know  who  were 
the  benefactors  of  the  institution.^ 

Apparently  there  was  no  great  rush  of  the  benevolent-minded  to  get 
their  names  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  college.  When  the  next 
legislature  assembled  in  the  following  December,  Governor  Claiborne 
reminded  the  legislators  that  their  predecessors  had  passed  an  act  to 
estabhsh  a  college,  but  had  left  its  support  to  private  contribution. 
Believing  that  support  of  this  kind  was  "too  precarious  to  insure  the 
welfare  of  so  desirable  an  institution,"  he  recommended  that  a  tax  be 
put  on  marriage  licenses  for  the  permanent  endowment  of  the  college, 
and  that  Congress  be  solicited  to  make  a  donation  of  land  to  it.^  The 
latter  recommendation  resulted  in  securing  a  provision  in  the  act  of 
Congress  of  March  3,  1803,  setting  aside  for  the  use  of  Jefferson  College 
thirty-six  sections  of  public  land,  to  be  located  in  one  body  by  the 
secretary  of  the  treasury,  and  also  donating  two  town  lots  in  Natchez, 
with  "an  outlet  adjoining  the  same,  not  exceeding  thirty  acres,"  to  be 
located  by  the  governor  of  the  territory."* 

The  township  of  land  granted  by  Congress  was  located  in  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  territory  on  the  Tombigbee  River.  After  the  division  of 
the  territory  it  lay  in  Alabama.     Many  years  later  the  legislature  of 

^The  site  selected  was  Washington  in  the  extreme  southwestern  part  of  the 
territory,  but  at  that  time  near  the  center  of  white  population.     See  map  on  p.  18. 

2  Digest,  1816,  p.  310.  3  Rowland,  op.  cil.,  I,  561. 

4  The  Public  Statutes  at  Large  of  the  United  States  of  America  from  the  Organization 
of  the  Government  in  lySg  to  March  j,  1845,  II,  234. 


20  EDUCATION.\L  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Mississippi  described  the  lands  as  "sterile,  unproductive,  pine  barrens, 
subject  to  periodical  inundations  of  the  Tombeckbee'  River."^  What- 
ever value  the  lands  may  have  acquired  later,  the  gift  did  not  provide 
the  means  for  maintaining  a  college  during  the  territorial  period.  In 
1803  a  site  for  the  college  was  selected  at  Washington,  about  six  miles 
from  Natchez,  but  for  many  years  no  attempt  was  made  to  put  the 
school  in  operation. 

It  was  not  until  18 10  that  Jefferson  College  opened  its  doors  to 
students,  and  then  only  the  "academic"  or  preparatory  department  was 
begun.  In  fact,  it  seems  probable  that  the  collegiate  department  was 
not  opened  until  after  the  territory  became  a  state.^ 

The  legislature  in  18 10  granted  to  the  school  all  escheats  throughout 
the  territory'  for  a  period  of  ten  years,''  from  which  source  five  or  six 
thousand  dollars  were  realized. ^  An  attempt  was  made  in  181 1  to  pass 
an  act  "for  raising  a  fund  for  erecting  buildings  and  for  the  support  of 
the  Jeffersonian  College  of  Mississippi  Territory,"  and  the  bill  passed 
the  House,  but  failed  to  become  a  law.^  The  school,  however,  managed 
to  continue  its  sessions  as  an  academy,  receiving  but  little  financial 
assistance  from  the  territorial  government.  In  1816  the  legislature 
granted  to  the  trustees  of  the  institution  a  loan  of  $6,000,  to  be  paid  in 
four  equal  instalments,  the  first  becoming  due  January  i,  181 7.  The 
trustees  were  required  to  secure  the  loan  to  the  territory  by  giving  bond 
for  twice  the  amount  involved  and  a  mortgage  on  the  real  estate  of  the 
college.  7 

Thus  the  territorial  period  closed  with  the  only  college  within  the 
territory  unprovided  with  adequate  means  for  its  maintenance,  indebted 
to  the  territorial  government,  and  with  its  endowment  of  lands  mortgaged 
as  security  for  the  debt.  The  subsequent  story  of  the  state's  relations 
to  this  institution  will  be  related  in  the  chapter,  "Higher  Education  in 
Mississippi  from  181 7  to  1860."^ 

'  Tombigbee.  ^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1830  (November),  pp.  i45~46. 

3  Morrison,  "Early  History  of  Jefferson  College,"  Publication  of  the  Mississippi 
Historical  Society,  II,  179-88. 

4  Digest,  1816,  p.  264. 

s  Mayes,  "History  of  Education  in  Mississippi,"  United  States  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion, Circular  of  Information,  No.  2,  p.  27. 

6  House  Journal,  181 1,  pp.  40,  44,  51,  73,  74. 

7  Digest,  i8i6,  p.  453.  ^  See  chap,  vii,  p.  82. 


EDUCATIONAL  BEGINNINGS  21 

BEGINNINGS  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

The  charter  of  Jefferson  College  was  the  first  act  of  incorporation 
granted  by  a  Mississippi  legislature  for  any  purpose  whatever.  The 
delay  in  opening  the  school,  however,  permitted  two  chartered  academies 
to  precede  it  in  actual  operation.  The  first  charter  granted  to  a  second- 
ary institution  in  the  territory  incorporated  the  Franklin  Society  in 
Jefferson  County  on  January  8,  1807.  This  society  had  been  organized 
more  than  a  year  before,  and  had  opened  its  school,  which  was  called 
Franklin  Academy.^  Among  the  incorporators  of  the  society  were 
Cato  West,  Thomas  Hinds,  and  others  prominent  in  the  early  history 
of  the  territory  and  state.  They  were  empowered  to  purchase,  receive, 
hold,  and  enjoy  real  and  personal  property  ''for  the  purpose  of  enabling 
them  better  to  carry  into  execution,  encourage,  and  promote  such 
measures"  as  might  tend  to  advance  the  interests  of  Franklin  Academy .^ 

Madison  Academy  in  Claiborne  County  was  the  next  school  to 
receive  letters  of  incorporation.  The  charter  was  granted  on  December  5, 
1809,  but  the  school  had  been  organized  earlier,  as  is  indicated  in  the 
charter.  The  act  provided  that  ''the  school  on  the  north  fork  of 
Bayou  Pierre  in  the  neighborhood  of  Port  Gibson,  now  under  the 
direction  of  Henry  C.  Cox,  be,  and  the  same  is,  hereby  erected 
into  an  Academy,  hereafter  to  be  known  by  and  bear  the  name  of 
Madison  Academy."  A  board  of  trustees  of  thirteen  members  was 
named,  and  was  given  the  power  to  fill  vacancies  in  its  own  body.  It 
was  stipulated  in  the  charter  that  children  of  all  religious  denominations 
should  be  admitted  "to  equal  advantages"  and  should  "receive  alike 

^  Franklin  Society  was  organized  and  its  constitution  adopted  at  a  meeting  held 
January  4,  1806.  According  to  the  provisions  of  the  constitution,  subscribers  to  the 
society  were  required  to  pay  an  admission  fee  of  $20  and  a  subsequent  annual  fee  of 
$10,  which  was  to  go  to  the  support  of  the  academy.  At  a  meeting  held  August  19, 
1806,  a  house  and  lot  was  rented  at  Greenville,  Jefferson  County,  from  Edward 
Turner  for  the  sum  of  $100  in  advance,  and  Felix  Hughes  was  employed  as  teacher. 
Rates  of  tuition  were  fixed  at  $20  a  year  for  "Reading,  Writing,  and  Common  Arith- 
metic," and  $30  for  ''EngUsh  Grammar,  Bookkeeping,  Geography,  and  the  practical 
branches  of  the  Mathematics,  and  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages."  The  date  of  the 
opening  was  set  for  the  first  day  of  the  following  month.  That  the  school  actually 
opened  at  the  time  contemplated  is  indicated  by  an  advertisement  in  the  Missis- 
sippi Messenger  of  September  16,  1806,  in  which  Martha  Throckmorton  proposed 
to  give  board  and  lodging  "at  her  Houses  in  Greenville"  to  "pupils  to  the  Frankhn 
Academy"  for  eight  dollars  a  month,  and  with  washing  included  for  ten  dollars  a 
month.     Mississippi  Messenger,  February'  it,  August  19,  and  September  16,  1806. 

*  Digest,  1816,  p.  52. 


2  2  EDUCATION.\L  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

fair  and  generous  treatment."  The  trustees  were  granted  the  privilege 
of  raising  by  lottery  for  the  benefit  of  the  institution  a  sum  not  exceeding 
$2,000.^  In  December,  18 14,  the  legislature  authorized  the  removal  of 
Madison  Academy,  provided  the  new  location  should  be  not  more  than 
three  miles  from  Port  Gibson.'' 

For  several  years  these  two  academies  seem  to  have  been  the  chief 
dependence  of  the  people  of  the  Natchez  district  for  secondary  education. 
At  any  rate,  no  others  in  the  western  part  of  the  territory  were  incor- 
porated until  1814.  In  the  meantime  there  had  grown  up  rather 
extensive  settlements  near  Mobile  Bay  and  along  the  rivers  tributary  to 
the  bay,  forming  a  nucleus  for  the  later  territory  of  Alabama.  During 
the  years  181 1  and  1812  two  academies  were  chartered  for  the  citizens 
of  this  eastern  country,  Washington  Academy,  at  St.  Stephens,  in  old 
Washington  County,  and  Greene  Academy,  located  in  old  Madison 
County.^  These  two  schools  seem  to  have  been  especially  favored  by 
the  territorial  legislatures.  They  were  the  only  academies  of  the 
territorial  period  that  were  given  exemption  from  taxation  in  their 
charters,  and  they  were  permitted  to  raise  larger  sums  by  lotteries  than 
any  others,  $5,000  for  Washington  and  $4,000  for  Greene.^  In  1816 
they  were  granted  direct  appropriations  from  the  territorial  treasury 
of  $500  each,  the  only  instance  when  money  was  appropriated  by  the 
territory  directly  for  an  educational  purpose.^ 

Toward  the  close  of  the  territorial  period,  four  additional  academies 
were  incorporated  in  the  Natchez  section  of  the  territory.  Jackson 
Academy,  in  Wilkinson  County,  was  given  a  charter  in  1814.^  During 
the  following  year  two  other  academies  in  Wilkinson  County  were 
incorporated  on  the  same  day,  December  23,  These  were  Pinckneyville 
Academy  in  the  town  of  Pinckneyville  and  Wilkinson  Academy  at 
Woodville.'^    At  the  same  session  the  legislature  also  gave  a  charter  to 

I  Digest,  1816,  p.  53.  =*  Ibid.,  p.  54. 

3  These  counties  are  not  to  be  confused  with  the  later  counties  of  Madison  and 
Washington  created  in  Mississippi.  When  the  territory  was  divided  they  were  thrown 
into  Alabama. 

4  Digest,  1816,  pp.  54,  56. 

s  Appended  to  act  making  loan  to  Jefferson  College,  Digest,  1816,  p.  80:  "There 
i  s  also  hereby  given  and  granted  to  Greene  Academy  and  St.  Stephens  Academy  each 
the  sum  of  $500,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  Territorial  treasury,  on  the  auditor's  warrant, 
which  warrant  he  is  hereby  required  to  issue  on  the  order  of  the  president  of  the  said 
academies  respectively." 

6  Digest,  1816,  p.  57.  7  Ihid.,  pp.  58,  59. 


EDUCATIONAL  BEGINNINGS  23 

Amite  Academy,  for  which  the  trustees  were  to  select  a  site  within  three 

miles  of  Liberty.'  .  ,    ,     .     . 

The  eight  academies  that  have  been  named  constitute  the  beginnmgs 
of  secondary  education  in  Mississippi.     The  acts  of  incorporation  have 
several  characteristics  in  common.     The  boards  of  trustees  were  all 
self-perpetuating   bodies.     The   names   of   the   institutions,   with     he 
exception  of  PinckneyviUe  Academy,  indicate  that  they  were  expected 
to  serve  more  than  a   local  constituency,  four  bearing  the  names  of 
men  of  national  fame  and  three  the  names  of  the  counties  they  were  to 
serve     In  none  of  the  charters  was  any  provision  made  for  support, 
except  to  the  extent  of  authorizing  small  sums  to  be  raised  by  lottery.^ 
Six  of  the  eight  academies  of  Mississippi  Territory  were  located  in 
the  group  of  counties  comprising  the  "Natchez  District."^     With  the 
exception  of  Amite  Academy  they  were  all  within  the  four  coun  les 
bordering  upon  the  Mississippi  River.     The  new  counties  of  Franklin 
Lawrence,  Pike,  Marion,  Wayne,  Greene,  Hancock,  and  Jackson  had 
made  no  provisions  for  secondary  education  that  are  revealed  by  the 
legislation  of  the  territory.    These  counties  at  the  time  were  very  thmly 
settled. 

BEGINNINGS  OF  ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION 

It  may  appear  that  Mississippi  Territory  began  her  educational 
structure  at  the  top  and  worked  downward.     This,  however    is  only 
apparently  true,  for  although  her  first  school  legislation  was  the  incor- 
poration of  Jefferson  College  and  the  next  was  the  chartering  o   acade- 
mies   it  must  be  remembered  that  academies  preceded  the  college  in 
opening  their  doors  to  students,  and  that  they  were  not  strictly  speaking 
mere  secondary  schools.     The  academies  of  Mississippi,  as   indeed   of 
the  whole  nation,  had  a  very  elastic  and  varied  curriculum.     They 
supplied  whatever  their  patronage  demanded,  when  they  could,  and  d  d 
not  stop  to  ask  whether  they  were  doing  elementary  or  secondary  work. 
Indeed,  they  had  no  scruples  against  offering  college  work.     It  is  clear 
that  Franklin  Academy,  the  first  chartered  institution  to  admit  pupiU 
in  the  territory,  was  an  elementary  school  as  well  as  an  academy.     This 
is  probably  true  of  all  other  academies  of  the  period. 

It  should  be  remembered  further  that  private  elementary  schools 
scattered  here  and  there  constituted  an  essential  part  of  the  school 

»  Ibid.,  p.  57- 
a  See  Table  XVI,  p.  124. 

3  The  other  two  were  located  in  Washington  and  Madison  counties,  now  a  part  ol 
the  state  of  Alabama. 


24  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

facilities  of  the  territory,  although  they  were  without  legislative 
recognition.^ 

But  the  people  of  Mississippi  Territory,  or  at  least  their  chosen 
leaders,  were  not  content  to  rely  on  private  resources  for  the  support 
of  elementary  education.  Governor  Claiborne  in  the  message  to  the 
legislature  in  1802  seems  to  have  had  in  mind  something  more  than 
Jefferson  College  when  he  urged  the  need  of  "a  system  of  pubUc  educa- 
tion." In  1806,  acting  Governor  Cowles  Meade  in  his  address  to  the 
legislature  said: 

Taught  by  the  experience  of  centuries,  warned  by  the  expiring  groans  of 
falling  states,  cautioned  by  the  miseries  of  others,  let  us  begin  our  Young 
Republic  by  providing  largely  and  munificently  for  the  general  diffusion  of 
knowledge;  let  the  poor  be  supplied  with  means  of  education;  let  schools  be 
erected  throughout  your  Territory  on  such  generous  terms  as  will  enable  every 

I  The  newspapers  of  the  period  contam  frequent  references  to  these  private 
elementary  schools,  which  often  provided  work  of  higher  grade.  Such  advertisements 
as  the  following,  both  from  the  Mississippi  Messenger  of  April  29,  1806,  were  not 
imcommon: 

WANTED 

in  the  town  of  Greenville 
(where  a  large  school  can  be  had) 

A  Teacher 
of  the  EngUsh  Language.     None  need  apply,  but  such  as  will  con- 
tinue one  vear  at  least,  and  can  come  well  recommended. 


JAMES  WILKINS 
has  taken  that  large  and  commodious  House  on  the  Bluff,  formerly 
occupied  as  a  Government-House;    where  he  will  teach  young 
Females  Reading,  Writing,  Arithmetic,  Geography,  and  the  use 
of  Globes. 

He  will  also  board  them  if  required,  bedding  being  found  by 
his  employers. 

If  sufficient  encouragement  is  offered,  he  will  endeavour  to 
procure  that  Dancing  and  Music  shall  also  be  taught  in  his  house. 

Particular  attention  will  be  paid  by  Mrs.  Wilkins  to  the 
manners  and  accommodation  of  Boarders;  she  will  also,  as 
early  as  the  age  of  her  young  child  will  permit,  instruct  them  in 
Needle-Work. 

Terms  made  known  on  application. 

To  commence  on  the  17th  inst. 
Natchez,  March  11,  1806. 


EDUCATIONAL  BEGINNINGS  25 

citizen  to  understand  his  proper  station  in  society  .  .  .  .  ,  to  detect  the 

guise  of  craft  and  duplicity,  and  expose  the  lurking  deceits  of  the  ambitious 

hypocrite.^ 

To  this  eloquent  outburst  the  legislature  responded: 

We  shall  use  our  best  endeavours  for  the  adoption  of  some  efficient  plan, 

by  which  to  disseminate  the  seeds  of  science  among  the  rising  generation.^ 

Apparently  the  legislature  could  find  no  satisfactory  plan  for  dis- 
seminating the  ''  seeds  of  science,"  for  there  is  no  record  of  any  legislation 
in  the  interest  of  public  education  at  this  session.  In  fact,  no  act  was 
passed  by  any  territorial  legislature  with  specific  reference  to  elementary 
schools. 

The  real  beginnings  of  public  elementary  education  are  to  be  found 
in  the  federal  legislation  of  this  period.  When  in  1803  Congress  passed 
an  act  providing  for  the  disposal  of  public  lands  within  the  new  territory, 
the  policy  of  reserving  the  sixteenth  section  in  each  township  for  school 
purposes  was  extended  to  Mississippi.^  When  it  was  discovered,  soon 
after,  that  in  some  townships  the  sixteenth  sections  had  passed  into 
private  hands  by  earlier  grants.  Congress  passed  a  supplementary  act 
which  provided  that 

Whenever  the  section  number  sixteen  shall  fall  upon  land  already  granted 
by  virtue  of  any  act  of  Congress,  or  claimed  by  virtue  of  a  British  grant,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  locate  another  section  in  lieu  thereof,  for  the 
use  of  schools,  which  location  shall  be  made  in  the  same  township,  if  there 
be  any  other  vacant  section  therein,  and  otherwise  in  an  adjoining  township.^ 

Two  years  later  a  third  act  of  Congress  reserved  all  the  sixteenth 
sections  in  the  portion  of  the  territory  ceded  to  the  federal  goverimient 
by  the  Indians  in  1805.5 

In  1 81 5,  Congress  authorized  the  county  courts  to  take  charge  of  the 
lands  reserved  by  the  United  States  for  school  purposes,  to  lease  the 
lands  for  a  period  not  to  extend  beyond  January  i,  following  the  admission 
of  the  territory  as  a  state,  and  to  expend  the  proceeds  of  the  leases  in 
building  schooUiouses.^  With  these  four  acts  of  Congress  as  a  basis 
the  people  of  the  state  of  Mississippi,  in  the  face  of  numerous  difficulties, 
were  to  begin  the  slow  and  arduous  process  of  developing  a  public-school 
system. 

^Mississippi  Messenger,  December  9,  1806. 
^  Ibid. 

3  Statutes  at  Large,  II,  229.  s  Jhid.,  p.  480.     See  map,  p.  5. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  400.  *  Ibid.,  Ill,  163. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ELEMENTARY    EDUCATION    FROM    1817    TO    1846.    THE   SIXTEENTH 
SECTIONS  AND  THE  TOWNSHIP  SCHOOLS 

When  Mississippi  became  a  state  in  1817  there  was  incorporated 
into  her  constitution    the   well-known  provision  of    the  ordinance  of 

1787: 

Religion,  morality,  and  knowledge  being  means  to  good  government,  the 
preservation  of  Uberty,  and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools,  and  the  means 
of  education,  shall  be  forever  encouraged  in  this  state/ 

The  first  legislature  to  assemble  under  this  constitution  authorized 
the  judges  of  the  county  courts  to  take  charge  of  the  land  given  by  the 
United  States  government  for  school  purposes  in  their  respective  coun- 
ties, and  to  provide  for  the  erection  of  one  or  more  schools,  as  they 
"deemed  right  and  useful."  They  were  permitted  to  lease  the  school 
lands  for  not  longer  than  three  years  at  a  time,  and  to  dispose  of  the 
proceeds  from  these  leases  ''according  to  the  terms  of  the  donation." 
In  erecting  schoolhouses  the  judges  were  required  to  expend  the  rents 
from  school  sections  within  the  township  to  which  the  lands  belonged.^ 
In  1820  the  law  was  amended  so  as  to  require  the  county  courts  to  direct 
the  sheriffs  of  the  several  counties  to  lease  the  school  sections  for  a 
period  of  five  years,  as  soon  as  the  previous  leases  should  expire.  The 
lessees  were  required  to  give  bond  in  double  the  amount  of  the  value  of 
the  land  they  leased  that  there  should  be  no  waste  of  timber  or  soil. 
This  amendatory  act  also  provided  that  the  county  courts  should  appoint 
in  each  township  from  three  to  five  "discreet  land  holders"  to  put  into 
operation  such  schools  as  in  their  judgment  might  be  "compatible 
with  their  funds."  These  "discreet  land  holders"  were  required  to 
apply  to  the  schools  they  should  establish  all  the  rents  received  from 
the  school  lands  of  their  respective  townships.-^ 

It  is  evident  that  funds  provided  by  the  short  leases  must  have 
been  inadequate  even  for  the  erection  of  school  cabins  in  many  of  the 

'  Thorpe,  The  Federal  and  State  Constitutions,  Colonial  Charters,  and  Other  Organic 
Laws  of  the  States,  Territories,  and  Colonies,  IV,  2025-68. 

'Approved  February  5,  1818.     Hutchinson,  Code  of  Mississippi,  p.  205. 

3  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1820.     MS  Laws,  Mississippi  State  Archives,  Series  I,  No.  3. 

26 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1846  27 

townships,  and  in  others  it  was  doubtless  impossible  to  lease  the  school 
lands  at  all  When  by  any  means  houses  were  erected  wholly  or  in 
part  from  the  proceeds  of  the  leases,  the  schools  had  to  be  maintained 
chiefly  by  private  subscriptions  and  tuition  rates.  In  1821  Governor 
Poindexter  reported  to  the  legislature  the  result  of  an  investigation  of 
the  school  situation  throughout  the  state,  which  he  said  was  based  upon 
information  received  from  every  county.     He  said,  in  part: 

There  is  scarcely  a  seminary  of  learning  among  us  worthy  of  the  name; 
perhaps  not  one.  The  rudiments  of  the  English  language  are  taught  in  a 
few  private  schools  dispersed  over  a  wide  extent  of  country,  and  even  these 
meet  with  poor  encouragement,  and  are  often  conducted  by  mcompeten 
teachers.  Jeiferson  College,  which  has  been  so  richly  endowed  by  the  general 
government,  and  upon  which  our  liberality  has  been  so  freely  bestowed,  is 
comparatively  an  empty  dome  with  pensioned  preceptors.' 

ACT  TO  ESTABLISH  THE   LITERAKY   FUND 

The  governor  recommended  that  a  "Literary  Fund"  for  the  endow- 
ment of  public  education  and  for  the  education  of  the  poor  be  raised 
by  a  moderate  annual  tax.    The  legislature  responded  by  passing  an 
act  entitled,  "an  act  to  establish  a  Literary  Fund,  and  for  the  encour- 
agement and  support  of  education  in  this  state.-    The  act  appropri- 
ated to  the  Literary  Fund  all  "escheats,  confiscations,  forfeitures,  and 
all  personal  property  accruing  to  the  state  as  derelict"  after  December  30 
18.1    and  "all  fines,  pecuniary  penalties,  and  forfeitures,     imposed 
within  the  state  for  the  violation  of  a  penal  statute  or  for  a  misdemeanor, 
except  such  as  were  otherwise  particularly  appropriated.     A  direct  tax 
of  one-sixth  of  the  general  state  tax  was  also  levied  for  the  tund,  bu 
this  clause  was  repealed  by  the  next  legislature.^    The  act  provided  tha 
such  part  of  the  moneys  accruing  as  was  needed  for  the  payment  of 
the  tuition  of  poor  children  in  the  several  counties  of  the  state  should 
be  used  for  that  purpose,  and  the  balance  should  be  reserved  and  invested 
as  an  endowment  for  public  education,  and  be  distributed  to  the  coun- 
ties of  the  state  when  it  should  reach  a  total  of  $50,000. 

For  the  administration  of  the  Literary  Fund  the  act  incorporated 
the  "President  and  Directors  of  the  Literary  Fund."  This  body  was 
made  to  consist  of  the  governor,  lieutenant-governor,  secretary  ol 
Slate,   attorney-general,   presiding   judge   of   the   supreme   court,    the 

^  Mississippi  State  Gazette,  Natchez,  January  6,  iSji. 
a  Laws  of  Mississippi,  182 1,  pp.  37-44- 
3  Ibid.,  1822-23,  pp.  103-4. 


28  EDUCATIOxNAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

chancellor  of  the  state,  and  three  persons  elected  by  the  general  assembly. 
An  amendment  to  the  act  in  1823  eliminated  the  attorney-general  and 
chief  justices  of  the  two  courts.^  The  directors  were  required  to  report 
annually  the  condition  of  the  fund,  the  amount  collected,  the  amount 
expended  for  the  education  of  the  poor,  and  the  amount  invested. 

For  applying  the  portion  of  the  income  of  the  fund  needed  for  the 
education  of  the  poor,  one  section  of  the  act'  required  the  president  and 
durectors  to  appoint  in  each  county  a  board  of  school  commissioners  to 
consist  of  not  less  than  five  nor  more  than  ten  ''discreet  persons." 
The  commissioners  in  each  county  were  authorized  to  determine  ''what 
number  of  poor  children"  they  would  educate,  and  what  sum  should 
be  paid  for  their  education,  and  "to  draw  orders  upon  their  treasurer 
for  the  payment  of  the  expense  of  tuition,  and  of  furnishing  such  children 
proper  books  and  materials  for  writing  and  cyphering."  The  children 
selected  by  the  commissioners  were  to  be  sent  to  such  school  as  might 
be  convenient  "to  be  taught  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic."  The 
directors  of  the  Literary  Fund  were  required  to  pay  over  to  the  treasurer 
of  the  commissioners  of  each  county  such  sum  as  the  commissioners 
should  certify  was  necessary  for  the  education  of  the  poor  children  of 
the  county.  An  account  of  the  expenditures  of  this  sum  was  required 
of  the  commissioners  by  the  directors  of  the  fund. 

In  addition  to  their  duties  relative  to  the  education  of  the  poor 
children,  the  school  commissioners  were  required  to  appoint  a  coni- 
mittee  from  their  own  body  to  visit  all  schools  of  all  grades  in  their 
respective  counties.  The  act  also  provided  that  no  one  should  be  per- 
mitted to  teach  in  the  state  without  demonstrating  his  qualifications  to 
teach  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  directors  of  the  Literary  Fund.  This 
provision  of  the  act  is  discussed  more  fully  in  chapter  x.^  It  should  be 
observed  here,  however,  that  the  school  commissioners  did  not  have 
the  power  of  employing  or  discharging  teachers,  or  any  other  effective 
means  of  controlling  teachers  within  their  counties. 

The  last  four  sections  of  the  act  under  discussion  took  the  control 
of  the  sixteenth  sections  from  the  county  courts  and  gave  to  the  presi- 
dent and  directors  of  the  Literary  Fund  the  power  to  lease  all  school 
lands  for  such  length  of  time  as  they  might  see  fit.  The  president  and 
directors  were  required  to  act  through  agents  to  be  appomted  in  each 
county.  The  proceeds  of  the  leases  were  to  be  used  under  the  direction 
of  the  county  school  commissioners  in  erecting  schoolhouses  in  the 

'  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1822-23,  pp.  103-4. 
2  Sec.  10.  ^  See  p.  109. 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1840  29 

townships  to  which  the  lands  leased  should  belong.  This  portion  of 
the  act  was  repealed  in  1824,  when  the  state  adopted  the  township 
plan  of  control  of  schools. 

THE  SYSTEM  OF  TOWNSHIP  CONTROL  OF  SCHOOLS  AND  SCHOOL  LANDS 

On  January  9,  1824,  an  act  of  the  legislature  was  approved,  which 
fixed  the  policy  of  the  state  as  to  the  control  of  schools  and  school  lands 
for  the  next  twenty-two  years.  The  act  provided  for  a  board  of  trustees 
in  each  township  in  the  state  to  consist  of  five  men,  elected  annually 
by  the  resident  heads  of  families  who  were  legal  voters.'  In  this  act  is 
reflected  a  general  tendency  in  the  state  to  keep  power  and  authority 
as  close  to  the  people  as  was  possible.  The  legislature  probably  was 
influenced  also  by  the  fact  that  each  school  section  was  the  property 
of  the  township  in  which  it  was  located  and  was  designed  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  children  of  that  particular  township,  and  by  the  behef  that 
it  would  be  looked  after  most  carefully  by  its  immediate  owners  and 
beneficiaries. 

Except  for  slight  limitations  the  township  trustees  were  left  free  to 
do  as  they  thought  best  with  the  rents  from  school  lands,  provided 
they  used  them  "for  the  promotion  of  learning."  They  were  required 
to  preserve  the  school  lands  from  improper  waste,  and  were  given  power 
to  lease  them  for  terms  of  five  years.  They  were  to  erect  "such  con- 
venient school  house  or  houses"  on  the  sections  reserved  for  the  use  of 
schools  as  they  thought  best  suited  to  the  general  interest  of  the  families 
resident  within  the  township,  and  were  to  make  regulations  for  the 
government  of  the  schools,  employ  the  teachers,  and  "pay  the  same 
either  in  whole  or  in  part,  out  of  the  moneys  in  their  treasurer's  hands." 
There  was,  however,  no  penalty  for  failure  to  provide  schools. 

The  system  of  township  control  of  schools  inaugurated  in  the  act 
of  1824  remained  in  force  until  1846.  There  were  minor  changes  in 
various  points  of  the  law,  to  be  sure,  sometimes  merely  modifying  the 
act  in  so  far  as  it  applied  to  a  certain  county  or  township,  for  it  seemed 
to  be  generally  agreed  that  if  the  law  did  not  please  any  particular 
community,  the  state  was  ready  to  pass  a  special  act  to  suit  the  local 
wishes.  For  instance,  a  special  act  provided  that  in  township  17, 
range  5,  east,  in  Warren  County,  the  trustees  should  be  elected  for 
terms  of  five  years  instead  of  one  year,  and  that  all  the  school  revenue 
of  the  township  should  be  expended  on  one  school.-'  A  score  of  similar 
acts  could  be  quoted. 

'  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1824,  pp.  9-12.  '  Ibid.,  1829,  pp.  29-30. 


30  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

THE   NINETY-NINE- YEAR   LEASES 

There  was  one  feature  of  the  law  of  1824  that  was  subject  to  con- 
tinuous revisal.  This  was  the  clause  Umiting  the  term  for  which  school 
lands  might  be  leased.  In  1826  the  privilege  was  granted  to  township  11, 
range  i,  east,  in  Claiborne  County,  to  lease  its  sixteenth  section  for 
ninety-nine  years,  and  invest  the  proceeds  in  stock  of  the  Bank  of  Mis- 
sissippi.^ The  dividends,  only,  were  to  be  used  for  the  support  of  the 
schools  of  the  township.  In  1830  there  seems  to  have  been  a  growing 
demand  for  the  privilege  of  leasing  school  lands  for  longer  periods  than 
the  five  years  provided  by  law,  for  the  more  extended  leases  were  per- 
mitted by  special  acts  as  follows: 

Township  8  in  Jefferson  County 12  years^ 

Township  5,  Range  3,  in  Rankin  County 99  years3 

All  townships  in  Pike  County 15  years4 

All   townships   in   Madison,   Jefferson,    Claiborne, 

Monroe,  and  Lowndes  counties 99  yearss 

In  addition  to  the  above  there  was  a  special  act  permitting  the  trustees 
of  the  school  section  in  township  10,  range  3,  west,  in  Yazoo  County, 
to  lay  off  two  hundred  acres  of  the  school  section  in  town  lots  and  lease 
these  to  the  highest  bidder  for  ninety-nine  years.^ 

No  restrictions  whatever  were  laid  upon  the  trustees  of  the  township 
in  Rankin  County  relative  to  the  ninety-nine-year  lease.  In  the  more 
comprehensive  act  for  the  counties  of  Madison,  Jefferson,  Claiborne, 
Monroe,  and  Lowndes,  it  was  required  that  the  full  amount  of  the 
leases  should  be  paid  within  four  years  in  equal  annual  instalments, 
that  they  should  be  granted  only  upon  the  direction  of  a  majority  of 
the  resident  heads  of  families  of  the  township  involved,  and  that  the 
lands  were  to  be  advertised,  and  let  to  the  highest  bidder,  but  for  not 
less  than  five  dollars  an  acre.  In  case  there  were  no  bidders,  trustees 
might,  upon  the  direction  of  the  majority  of  the  resident  heads  of 
families,  advertise  the  lands  a  second  time  and  lease  to  the  highest 
bidder  at  a  minimum  of  two  dollars  an  acre.  The  act  required  that 
the  proceeds  of  the  leases  should  be  invested  in  bank  stock,  which  should 
constitute  a  permanent  endowment  for  education  in  the  township,  and 
the  dividends,  only,  might  be  used  for  the  schools. 

*  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1826,  pp.  96-97. 

=^  Ibid.,  1830  (January),  pp.  114-15- 

3  Ihid.,  1830  (November),  p.  36. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  21.  s  Ibid.,  pp.  97-98- 
('Ibid.,  1830  (Januar}'),  PP-  31-32. 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1846  31 

There  is  one  important  difference  between  the  acts  authorizing  the 
twelve-  and  fifteen-year  leases  and  those  authorizing  the  ninety-nine- 
year  leases.  In  the  case  of  the  former  the  lessee  paid  an  annual  rent 
which  was  expended  directly  upon  the  schools  of  the  township;  in  the 
latter  the  lease  w^as  regarded  as  a  sale,  except  that  the  lessee  received 
a  title  for  ninety-nine  years  instead  of  in  fee  simple,  and  the  entire  pro- 
ceeds were  to  be  paid  in  a  few  years,  but  were  to  be  invested  and  only 
the  interest  or  dividends  upon  them  were  to  be  used/ 

The  motives  that  inspired  the  people  of  the  townships  seeking  the 
privilege  of  leasing  the  school  lands  for  ninety-nine  years  can  be  inferred 
only  from  a  consideration  of  the  general  conditions  of  the  time  and 
from  the  provisions  of  the  acts.  There  seems  to  be  some  foundation 
for  the  belief  that  in  all  the  long  leases  prior  to  1833  the  chief  considera- 
tion of  the  people  and  the  legislatures  was  the  desire  to  realize  something 
tangible  for  school  purposes  as  quickly  as  was  consistent  with  the 
general  educational  interests  of  the  townships  involved.  Lands  were 
plentiful  and  cheap  at  the  time  that  this  movement  was  inaugurated 
so  that  it  was  difficult,  doubtless,  to  find  persons  who  cared  to  rent 
school  lands,  mostly  unimproved,  for  the  short  period  of  five  years. 
Furthermore,  the  Bank  of  Mississippi  had  been  administered  upon  safe 
banking  principles,  was  thoroughly  sound  and  exceedingly  prosperous. 
The  stockholders  had  grown  wealthy  from  the  dividends  and  surplus 
that  had  accrued. ^  What  is  more  plausible  than  the  argument  that  we 
can  virtually  sell  these  idle  school  lands,  collect  the  proceeds  in  cash, 
and  invest  it  in  bank  stock?  The  investment  is  safe,  and  the  schools 
will  share  in  the  wealth  that  is  being  accumulated  by  the  banks.  The 
endowment  provided  by  the  Literary  Fund  is  gradually  piling  up  in 
the  state  treasury,  and  nearing  the  point  where,  under  the  law,  it  must 
be  distributed  to  the  counties.  Why  not  create  a  second  endowment 
fund  from  the  sixteenth  sections  ? 

'  The  ninety-nine-year  leases  are  frequently  referred  to  in  later  acts  as  sales.  It 
is  possible  that  some  trustees  in  violation  of  law  actually  sold  their  sections  in  fee 
simple,  and  that  such  sales  were  afterwards  legalized,  but  there  is  not  sufricient  evi- 
dence in  the  statutes  to  justify  such  a  conclusion.  Numerous  instances  of  acts  to 
"legalize  sales"  or  "legahze  leases"  indicate  that  the  word  sale  was  used  to  mean  a 
ninety-nine-year  lease.  See  p.  32  and  footnote.  There  are  two  instances  where 
sales  in  fee  simple  were  clearly  authorized.  One  township  in  Lowndes  County  was 
given  this  privilege  in  1852,  and  the  school  commissioners  of  Lauderdale  County  in 
1854  were  authorized  to  sell  in  fee  simple  all  the  school  lands  in  the  county,  except  in 
such  townships  as  a  majority  of  the  voters  signed  a  petition  to  the  contrary.  Laws 
of  Mississippi,  1852,  p.  116;    1854,  pp.  456-57. 

*  B rough,  "History  of  Banking  in  Mississippi,"  Publications  of  the  Mississippi 
Historical  Society,  III,  317-40. 


32  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

It  should  be  observed  that  the  movement  for  the  extension  of  leases 
arose  within  the  townships  and  counties,  and  that  the  acts  of  the  legis- 
lature were  in  response  to  the  demands  from  local  constituencies.  It 
should  be  observed,  further,  that  with  one  exception  the  legislature 
very  carefully  guarded  the  rights  of  the  schools.  It  should  also  be 
noted  that  the  legislature  in  authorizing  the  earlier  long  leases  provided 
a  minimum  sum  for  which  the  lands  might  be  leased  that  compared 
favorably  with  the  price  for  which  lands  could  be  purchased  in  fee 
simple.  Again,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  lands  were  leased  in  no 
case  for  an  annual  pittance,  as  was  done  in  some  of  the  other  states, 
but  always  for  a  lump  sum,  payable,  usually,  in  four  annual  instalments. 
These  leases,  it  appears,  differed  from  sales  only  in  that  the  purchaser 
received  title  for  only  ninety-nine  years.^  In  view  of  the  facts  that 
have  been  recounted  it  is  possible  to  conclude  that  the  motives  inspiring 
the  long  leases  prior  to  1833  were  purely  patriotic,  representing  an 
earnest  desire  to  use  the  school  lands  to  the  best  advantage  for  public 
education. 

But  whatever  may  be  said  in  justification  of  the  earher  long  leases, 
it  must  be  admitted  that  they  opened  the  way  for  legislation  that 
proved  disastrous  to  the  school  interests  of  the  state.  In  1833  an  act 
was  passed  extending  to  all  counties  in  the  state  the  privilege  of  leasing 
school  lands  for  a  term  of  ninety-nine  years.  The  circumstances  under 
which  this  law  was  enacted  and  the  provisions  contained  within  it 
indicate  that  it  was  passed  not  in  response  to  the  demands  of  school 

^  An  act  of  1841  gave  to  lessees  of  school  lands  the  same  rights  in  courts  of  law 
that  owners  of  lands  in  fee  simple  had,  except  that  they  might  not  sue  the  lessors. 
See  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1841,  p.  127, 

Attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  the  words  "sale"  and  ''lease"  seem  to  be 
used  synonymously  in  the  laws  to  refer  to  the  ninety-nine-year  leases.  This  is  clearly 
true  in  the  following  act: 

"An  act  for  the  relief  of  purchasers  of  the  sixteenth  sections  in  the  county  of 
Greene,  and  for  other  purposes. 

"Whereas,  the  several  sixteen  sections  of  land  in  the  counties  of  Green,  Wayne,  and 
Lauderdale,  have  been  sold,  and  the  purchasers  thereof,  having  purchased  in  good 
faith,  have  paid  a  portion  of  the  purchase  money,  and  have  executed  their  notes  for 
the  balance  of  the  purchase  money;  and  whereas  such  sales  were  not  made  in  strict 
compUance  with  the  provisions  of  the  laws  in  such  cases  made  and  provided; 

"Be  it  enacted — That  so  soon  as  said  purchasers  shall  pay  to  the  county  treasurer 
— the  balance  of  the  purchase  money  now  remaining  unpaid,  the  presidents  of  the 
boards  of  poHce  of  said  counties  are  authorized  and  directed,  to  execute  a  lease  to 
said  purchasers  of  said  sixteenth  sections,  for  the  term  of  ninety-nine  years  from  the 
date  of  sale,  and  said  lease  shall  be  valid,  as  if  said  lands  had  been  legally  and  properly 
sold."    Laws  of  Mississippi,  1859,  p.  70. 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1846  3^ 

trustees  or  patrons,  nor  in  the  interest  of  the  schools  of  the  state,  but 
for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the  pet  scheme  of  the  governor  anrl  the 
legislature  at  the  time.     The  Planters'  Bank  had  been  incorporated 
two  years  before  with  a  capital  stock  of  $3,000,000,  and  the  state  govern- 
ment was  having  difficulty  in  getting  the  stock  subscribed.^     One  of 
the  several  schemes  adopted  by  the  legislature  to  secure  subscriptions 
to  the  bank  stock  was  to  authorize  the  leasing  of  all  sixteenth  sections  m 
the  state  for  ninety-nine  years  provided  that  the  proceeds  be  mvested 
in  Planters'  Bank  stock.     The  only  limitation  placed  upon  the  trustees 
in  making  the  leases  was  the  requirement  that  a  majority  of  the  heads 
of  families  in  the  various  townships  must  request  such  action  before 
the  trustees  could  legally  grant  the  lease.     Not  only  was  the  minimum 
price  of  five  dollars  or  two  dollars  an  acre  omitted  from  this  act,  but 
also  it  was  expressly  indicated  in  the  act  that  the  legislature  expected 
many  of  the  sections  to  be  disposed  of  for  trifling  sums,  for  it  was  pro- 
vided that  if  any  section  leased  for  less  than  $100,  the  price  of  one  share 
in  the  Planters'  Bank,  the  sum  secured  should  be  lent  at  interest  until 
the  amount  was  sufficient  to  purchase  one  share  of  the  stock.^ 

LOSS   OF  THE   SIXTEENTH   SECTION  FUNDS 

It  is  not  known  how  many  townships  availed  themselves  of  the 
opportunity  to  turn  their  school  lands  into  stock  of  the  Planters'  Bank. 
Apparently,  however,  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  sixteenth  sections 
were  leased  under  the  restrictions  provided  in  1833  as  to  the  mvestment 
of  the  funds.  This  was  due  probably  to  several  causes,  largely,  per- 
haps to  inertia  on  the  part  of  the  resident  heads  of  families  and  the 
lack 'of  demand  for  the  lands.  The  Chickasaw  cession  had  just  been 
consummated,  and  with  the  prospect  of  large  areas  of  pubhc  lands  to  be 
secured  in  fee  simple,  the  demand  for  the  ninety-nine-year  leases  could 
not  have  been  very  great.  The  Chickasaw  lands  brought  a  flood  of 
immigration  to  the  state,  however,  which  rapidly  took  up  the  public 
lands  and  caused  considerable  inflation  in  real  estate  values.  It  seems 
probable  that  the  townships  in  some  case  may  have  been  deterred 
from  leasing  their  lands  under  the  act  of  1833  because  of  the  intense 
opposition  to  the  Planters'  Bank  and  the  lack  of  confidence  in  that 
enterprise.3     At  any  rate,  most  of  the  school  sections  that  were  leased 

» See  Brough,  loc.  cit.  ^    •     t  xt       q 

a  Laws  of  Mississippi,  MS  Laws,  1833,  Mississippi  State  Archives,  Series  I,  No.  18. 
3  The  Natchez  Southern  Galaxy  was  one  of  the  papers  that  voiced  the  opposition 
to  the  Planters'  Bank.     "  Can  the  legislature,"  it  asked,  "  for  a  moment  imagme  that 


34  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

for  ninety-nine  years  were  not  disposed  of  until  after  the  act  of  1833 
was  amended  in  1836.  The  amendment,  which  was  approved  in  Febru- 
ary of  the  latter  year,  provided  that  the  trustees  might  lend  the  proceeds 
from  the  leases  to  ''good  and  responsible  persons"  at  10  per  cent  interest, 
to  be  secured  by  notes  payable  within  twelve  months,  or  might  invest 
the  proceeds  in  the  purchase  at  par  of  stock  in  any  solvent  bank.^ 

Under  the  acts  of  1833  and  1836  the  lessees  of  school  lands  were  to  pay 
the  full  amount  of  the  purchase  price  in  four  annual  instalments.  The 
law  required  only  that  the  notes  given  for  the  deferred  payments  should 
be  endorsed  by  two  good  securities,  and  no  mortgages  were  taken. 
Evidences  soon  began  to  accumulate  that  in  many  cases  the  lessees 
failed  to  make  their  deferred  payments.  The  act  of  1836  authorized 
the  presidents  of  boards  of  trustees  to  bring  suits  against  debtors  to  the 
school  funds,  and  required  the  district  attorneys  to  prosecute  all  such 
suits.^  Subsequent  acts  provided  for  the  assessment  of  20  per  cent 
damages,  where  lessees  of  lands  or  borrowers  of  school  funds  had  to  be 
sued.^ 

In  the  meantime  it  had  become  evident  that  most  of  the  supposedly 
''solvent  banks"  of  the  state,  in  whose  stock  the  school  funds  of  some 
townships  had  been  invested,  were  in  a  serious  condition.  The  era  of 
wild  speculation,  inflation  of  values,  and  extension  of  credit  was  followed 
by  a  reaction.  In  1837  the  panic  came,  and  banks  suspended  specie 
payments.  In  1840  the  legislature  passed  an  act  for  winding  up  the 
business  of  insolvent  banks,  and  Governor  McNutt,  under  the  authority 
given  in  the  act,  immediately  declared  many  of  the  bank  charters  for- 
feited. Other  banks  had  put  their  assets  in  trust  before  the  law  became 
effective.4  In  the  following  year  the  trustees  of  schools  were  authorized 
to  sell  at  public  sale  to  the  highest  bidder  for  cash  all  depreciated  bank 
paper  in  their  hands.s 


the  enormous  sum  of  $3,000,000  would  be  subscribed,  and  actually  paid  in  for  the 
stock  of  a  bank,  founded  in  bad  faith,  uncertain  of  the  duration  of  its  existence,  and 
still  more  uncertain  of  successful  operation?"  Rowland,  Encyclopedia  oj  Mississippi 
History,  I,  187. 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1836,  p.  15. 
^  Ibid.y  p.  19. 

^Ihid.,  1840,  p.  196;   1842,  pp.  130-33;   1854,  p.  554.     See  also  Governor  Brown's 
message,  Senate  Journal,  1846,  pp.  23  ff. 
4  Rowland,  op.  oil.,  I,  220. 
s  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1841,  pp.  122-23. 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1S17-1846  35 

In  1843  the  legislature  passed  an  act  which  offers  an  additional 
explanation  of  the  total  loss  of  the  sixteenth  section  funds  in  most 
townships  of  the  state.     Section  4  of  this  act  reads  in  part  as  follows : 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  trustees  of  each  of  the  townships  in  this  state 
to  distribute  the  proceeds  arising  from  the  sale  or  lease  of  the  sixteenth  sections 
therein,  to  all  schools  that  may  be  estabhshed  within  said  townships;  which 
distribution  shall  be  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  resident  scholars  attending 
each  school  respectively. 

This  act  seems  to  direct  an  abandonment  of  the  endowment  plan, 
and  to  require  the  trustees  to  use  the  principal,  or  actual  proceeds  of 
leases,  instead  of  the  interest  only,  as  all  previous  acts  had  required. 
The  act  provided  that  under  certain  conditions  leases  previously  made 
might  be  rescinded  and  that  new  leases  might  be  made  at  a  lower  price 
and  on  easier  terms.^  Only  one-tenth  of  the  total  purchase  price  was 
to  be  paid  annually,  instead  of  one-fourth,  as  required  in  the  earher 
laws.  It  seems  probable  that  many  townships  taking  advantage  of  this 
act,  where  they  had  not  been  able  to  collect  the  proceeds  of  the  earlier 
leases,  made  new  contracts,  and  applied  the  whole  of  the  annual  pro- 
ceeds to  maintaining  their  schools.^ 

It  should  be  observed  that  all  the  legislation  relative  to  the  leasing 
of  sixteenth  sections  prior  to  1846  was  permissive  in  character,  and 
that  the  final  decision  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  school  lands  was  left 
to  the  trustees  and  resident  heads  of  families  in  each  township.  It  is 
evident  that  under  such  conditions  the  management  of  school  lands 
must  have  varied  greatly  in  different  parts  of  the  state,  and  often  in 

^  It  has  sometimes  been  inferred  from  the  title  of  this  act  that  it  was  intended  to 
authorize  the  repudiation  of  school  leases  after  the  proceeds  had  been  lost  in  bad 
investments.  Were  it  not  for  a  proviso  contained  in  the  act  this  inference  might  be 
drawn,  for  the  title  reads:  "An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  schools  and  school 
lands  in  all  of  the  sixteenth  sections  reserved  to  this  State  by  act  of  Congress,  to 
rescind  sales,  leases,  and  other  contracts  made  in  relation  thereto,  and  for  other 
purposes."  The  act,  however,  provides  that  no  sale,  lease,  or  other  contract  shall  be 
rescinded,  where  purchaser,  lessee,  or  contractor  is  able  to  comply  with  his  contract, 
unless  the  majority  of  the  resident  heads  of  families  in  the  township  first  give  their 
consent  in  writing  to  such  reduction,  and  no  reduction  shall  be  made  unless  lessee  shall 
secure  the  remainder  of  the  purchase  money  by  mortgage  or  other  security  to  the 
sadsfaction  of  the  trustees.  It  is  clear  that  new  leases  were  to  be  made  at  lower 
figures  and  on  easier  terms.     Laws  of  Mississippi,  1842,  pp.  130-33- 

^  Evidence  of  such  action  is  slight.  The  president  of  the  board  of  police  of  Yazoo 
County  refers  in  1846  to  townships  using  their  school  money  or  the  interest  thereon 
for  schools  in  his  county,  implying  that  some  townships  were  operating  under  the 
act  of  1842.     Senate  Journal,  1846,  p.  55. 


36  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

the  same  part,  and  even  in  the  same  county.  To  confirm  this  inference 
there  have  been  preserved  the  repHes  to  a  questionnaire  relative  to  the 
sixteenth  sections  and  common  schools,  which  Governor  Brown  sent  to 
the  presidents  of  the  boards  of  pohce  and  the  probate  judges  of  the 
several  counties  in  1845.  Replies  were  received  from  only  fifteen 
counties,^  but  these  are  sufficient  to  indicate  every  sort  of  management 
or  mismanagement  of  the  school  lands,  ranging  from  a  considerable 
degree  of  success  to  inefficiency,  criminal  negligence,  and  downright 
dishonesty. 

^  These  replies  were  submitted  to  the  legislature  with  the  governor's  message  in 
1846.  They  may  be  found  in  the  Senate  Journal  of  that  year,  pp.  41-60.  It  will  be 
permissible  to  summarize  here  the  reports  from  a  few  counties  representing  different 
sections  of  the  state. 

Monroe  County:  Only  nine  school  sections  in  county.  (The  greater  part  of  the 
county  was  in  the  Chickasaw  cession,  for  which  Congress  adopted  a  different  plan  of 
land  grant  for  schools.)  One  section  valueless.  Eight  townships  had  sold  from  seven- 
eighths  to  the  whole  of  their  school  section,  i.e.,  leased  for  ninety-nine  years.  (See 
pp.  31  and  32  and  footnotes.)  Each  of  the  eight  townships  had  proceeds  of  sale 
lent  at  10  per  cent  interest  and  well  secured.  Sums  at  interest  ranged  from  $736.94 
for  the  poorest  township  to  $2,360  for  the  wealthiest.  Two  townships  maintaining 
one  free  school  each  for  ten  months.  In  one  township  there  were  three  schools, 
free  to  all  for  three  months  in  the  year.  In  two  townships  there  were  no  schools  during 
past  year,  but  one  of  them  had  sufficient  funds  to  provide  a  free  school  six  months. 

Yazoo  County:  J.  J.  Michies,  president  of  the  board  of  poUce  reported  twenty- 
two  sections  in  the  county.  "About  thirteen  of  the  number,"  he  wrote,  "have  been 
leased  for  ninety-nine  years,  at  what  price,  I  cannot  say.  Four  or  five  of  these  sec- 
tions were  sold  in  Brandon  times,  and  the  proceeds  have  'gone  ghmmering  through  the 
dream  of  things  that  were.'"  The  remaining  townships  that  had  "sold"  their  school 
lands  were  appropriating  the  "money  or  the  interest  thereon"  to  the  support  of 
schools.  Forty  acres  of  each  section  had  been  retained  by  the  trustees,  on  which  the 
schoolhouse  was  located.  Twelve  schools  were  receiving  half  their  support  from 
school  land  funds,  and  about  200  children  in  the  county  were  being  educated  at  the 
expense  of  these  funds.  In  most  instances  where  the  fund  was  insufficient  to  sustain 
the  school  entirely,  it  was  appropriated  to  the  indigent,  leaving  the  wealthy  to  pay 
their  tuition  fees. 

Hinds  County:  (Report  from  only  one  township,  made  by  the  secretary- treasurer 
of  the  township  board  of  trustees.)  The  township  had  a  total  school  fund  of  $6,362  . 2,2,, 
of  which  $5,231 .  12  had  been  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  school  section.  The  fund 
was  lent  at  8  per  cent,  and  two  free  schools  were  maintained  by  the  proceeds. 

The  Pine  Woods  Counties :  The  several  reports  from  southeast  Mississippi  were  all 
of  about  the  same  tenor.  The  soil  of  these  counties  is  not  fertile,  and  they  were  covered 
with  dense  forests  of  long  leaf  yellow  pine  timber,  at  that  time  inaccessible  to  market 
and  in  very  little  demand.  Moreover,  the  difficulty  of  clearing  the  land  and  of 
cultivating  around  the  pine  stumps,  which  could  not  be  removed  without  great  expense, 
decreased  the  desirability  of  the  land  for  agricultural  purposes.     Consequently  there 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1846  37 

LOSS   OF   THE   LITERARY   FUND 

The  Literary  Fund,  created  in  1821,  gradually  accumulated  a  sur- 
plus above  the  amount  needed  for  the  education  of  the  poor  children 
of  the  various  counties.  In  1826  the  governor  was  required  to  invest 
$12,000  of  the  fund  in  stock  of  the  Bank  of  Mississippi,^  and  two  years 
later  the  entire  fund  was  invested  in  this  stock.^  In  1830  the  invest- 
ment was  ordered  transferred  to  stock  in  the  Planters'  Bank.^  An 
effort  to  increase  the  fund  by  a  direct  tax  of  one-tenth  of  the  state  tax 
for  general  purposes  was  made  by  the  act  of  February  12,  1830,^  but 
this  act  was  repealed  in  the  following  December,  before  its  provisions 
could  be  carried  out  even  for  one  year.^  By  1833  the  fund  amounted 
to  $50,000,  and  according  to  the  act  which  created  it,  should  have 
been  distributed  to  the  counties  of  the  state.^  Instead  of  selling  the 
stock  of  the  Planters'  Bank  and  distributing  the  proceeds,  the  legisla- 
ture chose  to  have  the  investment  continue,  to  retain  the  stock  in  the 
treasury,  and  to  prorate  the  shares  according  to  the  free  white  popula- 
tion of  the  several  counties.^  The  dividends  upon  their  respective 
shares  were  ordered  distributed  to  the  counties. 


was  not  sufficient  demand  for  land  to  make  the  school  sections  of  any  value  for  school 
purposes.     The  following  reports  are  typical  for  this  section  of  the  state. 

Hancock  County:  Two  sections  sold  for  $70  and  $175  respectively;  twenty-five 
sections  unsold;    no  schools  maintained  or  children  educated  from  the  proceeds  of 

sixteenth  sections. 

Jones  County:  Total  number  of  school  sections,  sixteen;  none  leased;  no  schools 
maintained  and  no  children  schooled  with  sixteenth  section  funds. 

Wayne  County:  Only  three  school  sections  considered  worth  anything;  one  of 
these  sold,  proceeds  unknown;  four  hundred  acres  of  another  section  sold  for  one 
cent  an  acre;  no  schools  supported  by  school  lands  and  no  children  educated  from 
proceeds  of  these  lands. 

Harrison  County:  Total  number  of  sections,  twenty-four;  none  sold;  estimated 
value  $300  each.  One  section  mostly  in  the  Bay  of  Biloxi,  and  partly  covered  by  an 
old  Spanish  grant.  The  secretary  of  the  treasury  had  been  requested  to  locate  another 
section  for  this  township.  Three  hundred  and  seventy-five  children  m  the  county; 
four  common  schools,  attended  by  seventy-five  children.  Report  adds:  "Our  popula- 
tion is  at  present  much  scattered,  and  this  is  one  of  the  great  difficulties  to  be  overcome 
in  this,  as  in  all  new  settled  countries,  by  individuals  in  getting  means  of  mstruction 
for  their  children." 

'  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1826,  p.  129.  "  Ibid.,  p.  38. 

^  Ibid.,  1828,  p.  130.  '  Ibid.,  1830  (November),  p.  19. 

3  Ibid.,  1830  (January),  p.  35-  '  See  p.  27  of  this  chapter. 

7  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1833  (January),  Mississippi  State  Archives,  Series  I,  No.  19. 
The  par  value  of  each  share  was  Sioo.     The  apportionment  to  the  several  counties 


38  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

The  failure  of  the  Planters'  Bank  swept  away  the  entire  amount 
accumulated  for  the  Literary  Fund,  and  the  act  which  created  it  was 
practically  repealed  by  the  passage  of  an  act  in  1839  which  turned  to 
the  academies  of  the  state  the  revenue  which  had  hitherto  gone  to  the 
Literary  Fund.' 

ATTEMPT  TO  SECURE  NEW  SCHOOL  LANDS 

While  it  was  disposing  of  all  the  available  school  funds  in  the  interest 
of  the  Planters'  Bank,  the  legislature  paused  long  enough  in  its  labors 
to  attempt  to  secure  from  Congress  additional  resources  for  common 
schools,  possibly  with  the  idea  that  they,  too,  should  be  invested  in  the 
bank  stock.  One  action  to  this  effect  was  a  memorial  to  Congress 
praying  that  permission  should  be  given  to  the  majority  of  the  resident 
heads  of  famihes  of  each  township,  to  relinquish,  if  they  saw  fit,  the 
sixteenth  section  and  to  enter  some  other  section  of  public  land  within 
the  Choctaw  cession.  The  request  was  based  upon  the  plea  that  fre- 
quently the  sixteenth  sections  were  sterile  and  unprofitable,  especially 
''in  the  pine  woods  counties  east  of  Pearl  River. "^  The  other  action 
in  this  direction  was  in  the  form  of  a  resolution,  which  sought  to  secure 
for  the  schools  of  the  various  counties  all  public  lands  within  the  coun- 
ties which  had  been  offered  for  sale  for  three  years  without  securing  a 
purchaser.^ 


was  as  follows:  Adams,  20  shares;  Amite,  23;  Claiborne,  22;  Co\dngton,  11;  Copiah, 
32;  Franklin,  15;  Greene,  7;  Hinds,  33;  Hancock,  8;  Jackson,  7;  Jones,  7;  Jefferson, 
20;  Lawrence,  20;  Lowndes,  14;  Madison,  17;  Marion,  13;  Perry,  8;  Rankin,  10; 
Simpson,  13;  Yazoo,  13;  Holmes,  12;  Pike,  24;  Wilkinson,  26;  Warren,  20;  Wayne, 
10;  Washington,  5;  Monroe,  17. 

'Laws  of  Mississippi,  1833  (November),  Mississippi  State  Archives,  Series  I, 
No.  19.     See  chap,  vi  of  this  study,  p.  53. 

^Laws  of  Mississippi,  1833  (November),  Mississippi  State  Archives,  Series  I, 
No.  19. 

3  Ibid.     The  resolution  is  as  follows: 

"Believing  that  every  true  patriot  who  wishes  the  prosperity  of  our  common 
country  and  the  perpetuation  of  enlightened  republican  institutions  feels  a  deep  inter- 
est in  spreading  light  and  knowledge  over  our  whole  population;  this  we  can  conceive 
can  be  best  promoted  by  the  estabUshment  of  primary  schools  in  each  county  in  this 
state,  and  in  each  and  every  state  in  the  Union;  being  however  specially  concerned 
as  to  the  importance  of  educating  the  youths  of  this  state  in  elementary  principles, 
and  believing  with  our  sister  states  that  education  is  the  only  means  of  perpetuating 
a  true  knowledge  of  our  government  and  its  principles,  and  beUeving  that  the  attain- 
ment of  such  desirable  ends  cannot  be  a  matter  of  indifference  to  the  general  govern- 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1846  39 

CURRICULUM   OF   THE   TOWNSHIP   SCHOOLS 

There  is  no  definite  statement  of  the  curriculum  of  an  elementary 
school  to  be  found  in  the  legislation  from  181 7  to  1846.  Occasionally 
there  is  a  reference  to  the  common  schools,  or  to  the  "common  branches," 
but  the  legislature  appears  to  assume  that  the  content  of  these  branches 
was  fixed  and  well  understood.  That  these  branches  consisted  only  of 
the  three  R's  in  182 1  is  implied  in  the  provision  of  the  act  creating  the 
Literary  Fund,  which  required  commissioners  of  education  to  have  the 
poor  children  of  their  respective  counties  taught  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic'  That  the  curriculum  was  expanded  somewhat  between 
182 1  and  1846  is  indicated  by  the  advertisements  of  schools  in  the  news- 
papers of  the  period,  but  there  is  no  confirmation  of  this  opinion  to  be 
found  in  acts  of  the  legislature.^ 

SUMMARY   or    CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE   PERIOD 

The  passage  of  the  common  school  act  of  1846  marks  the  end  of  a 
distinct  period  in  the  history  of  the  elementary  schools  of  Mississippi. 
The  chief  characteristics  of  this  period,  as  they  appear  in  the  preceding 
pages,  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 

First,  supreme  control  in  school  affairs,  except  in  the  matter  of 
supervision  of  the  education  of  the  poor  and  a  limited  oversight  of 
teachers  in  their  work,  was  in  the  hands  of  the  township  trustees,  who 
were  elected  by  the  resident  heads  of  families  in  the  respective  townships. 

Second,  the  proceeds  from  the  sixteenth  section  leases  were  the 
chief  dependence  for  funds  for  the  erection  of  schoolhouses  and  the 
payment  of  teachers,  in  so  far  as  public  support  was  concerned. 


ment,  and  that  they  will  be  disposed  to  harmonize  with  us  in  producing  results  so 
desirable,  with  little,  if  any,  sacrifice  to  the  general  weal; 

"We  therefore  pray  that  the  refuse  lands  in  the  several  counties  of  our  state, 
which  have,  or  will  have  been  offered  for  sale  three  years,  shall  thereafter  belong  to 
the  respective  counties  within  which  they  may  be  situated,  and  be  subject  to  be  dis- 
posed of  by  the  county  police  of  each  county,  for  the  sole  and  only  purpose  of  establish- 
ing and  maintaining  primary  schools  in  the  respective  counties." 

»  See  p.  28. 

'  The  advertisements  of  academies,  assuming  that  the  primary  departments  of 
these  schools  were  co-ordinate  with  the  common  schools,  indicate  that  the  usual 
curriculum  was  reading,  writing,  spelling,  and  elementary  arithmetic.  In  1835  the 
Pontotoc  Academy  includes  also  grammar  in  the  curriculum  of  its  "primary  depart- 
ment." In  this  instance  the  texts  used  are  given,  which  were  as  follows:  Murray's 
Spelling  Book,  Inlroduclion,  English  Reader,  and  Small  Grammar;  Pike's  Arithmetic. 
The  academy  charged  a  tuition  fee  of  S2  .00  a  month  for  this  course.  {The  Mississip- 
pian,  September  18,  1835.) 


40  EDUCATION.\L  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Third,  only  in  a  small  proportion  of  the  townships  were  there  suf- 
ficient funds  to  maintain  schools  entirely  with  the  pubHc  funds,  while 
in  many  townships  the  school  lands  did  not  contribute  anything  to 
the  education  of  the  children. 

Fourth,  the  inadequacy  of  the  funds  thus  provided  made  it  neces- 
sary for  parents,  who  had  means,  to  pay  tuition  rates  covering  a  part 
or  all  of  the  expense  of  educating  their  children. 

Fifth,  from  182 1  to  1839  the  state  provided  for  the  payment  of 
tuition  fees  of  poor  children  from  the  Literary  Fund.  After  the  funds 
for  this  purpose  were  transferred  to  another  object  in  1839,  some  town- 
ships used  their  sixteenth  section  funds  solely  to  pay  the  tuition  of  poor 
children. 

Sixth,  the  commissioners  who  had  control  of  the  disposition  of  the 
money  appropriated  from  the  Literary  Fund  for  the  education  of 
indigent  children  of  their  respective  counties  also  had  Hmited  super- 
visory powers  over  the  schools  of  the  county. 

Seventh,  the  state  attempted,  with  the  residue  of  the  Literary  Fund 
not  used  for  the  education  of  poor  children,  to  build  up  an  endowment 
for  common  schools.  This  policy  was  abandoned  when  the  sum  that 
had  been  accumulated  was  lost  in  the  failure  of  the  Planters'  Bank. 


CHAPTER  V 

ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION  FROM  1846  TO  1860.    THE  FIRST  SCHOOL 
SYSTEM  AND  THE  MULTIPLICATION  OF  "SYSTEMS" 

AGITATION  FOR  A  COMMON  SCHOOL  SYSTEM 

From  the  day  that  Governor  Claiborne  urged  upon  the  first  active 
territorial  legislature  in  1802  the  importance  of  a  "system  of  public 
education,"  there  were  always  among  the  leaders  of  the  people  of  Missis- 
sippi men  who  looked  forward  to  the  realization  of  their  dreams  of  a 
well-organized  school  system.  Vague  in  outUne,  never  wrought  out  in 
all  its  details,  the  vision  persisted,  leaving  its  impress  upon  the  speeches 
of  political  leaders  and  the  papers  of  public  officers.  Even  in  1833,  when 
the  legislature  (with  the  governor's  approval)  was  bringing  disaster 
upon  the  common  schools,  Governor  Scott  in  his  message  to  the  legis- 
lature recommended  "the  propriety  ....  of  immediately,  by  legisla- 
tive enactment,  laying  the  foundation  of  a  general  system  of  Schools 
and  Academies,  so  organized  that  the  means  of  instruction  may  be 
placed  within  the  reach  of  the  poorest  of  our  citizens."^ 

While   the  legislature  apparently  ignored   this  suggestion  of   the 

governor,  its  actions  doubtless  hastened  the  time  when  the  state  should 

attempt  to  enact  a  law  in  accordance  with  his  recommendations.     The 

low  state  to  which  the  common  schools  were  reduced  after  the  loss  of  the 

Literary  Fund  and  the  income  from  most  of  the  sixteenth  sections  raised 

the  school  question  to  a  prominent  place  in  the  state  campaign  of  1843. 

During  that  campaign  Hon.  A.  G.  Brown,  the  successful  candidate  for 

governor,  advocated  a  "well  regulated  system  of  free  schools,"  saymg, 

in  an  address  to  the  people  of  the  state,  "If  we  are  to  be  taxed  for  any 

other  purposes  than  the  economical  support  of  government,  I  greatly 

prefer  that  it  shall  be  for  the  estabUshment  of  schools."     He^  cited 

*'the  history  of  New  England  and  her  enlightened  population,"  as  a 

"most  striking  commentary  on  the  advantages  of  the  free  school  system."^ 

In  his  inaugural  address  in  1844  Governor  Brown  repeated  his  advocacy 

of  a  free  school  system,  and  urged  the  legislature  to  pass  an  act  m 

accordance  with  his  views,  but  without  success.     During  the  campaign 

of  1845  he  continuously  agitated  the  school  question  among  the  people 

»  House  Jourmal,  1833,  p.  13. 

2  Cluskey,  Speeches,  Messages,  and  Other  Writings  of  A.  G.  Brown,  p.  54- 

41 


42  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

of  the  state,  and  was  overwhelmingly  re-elected  on  a  platform  favoring 
a  free  school  system.  In  his  message  to  the  legislature  on  January  6, 
1846,  he  repeated  his  recommendations  made  to  the  previous  legislature, 
and  outlined  his  plan  in  considerable  detail.^  He  advocated  a  school 
system  with  a  state  officer  to  be  known  as  the  ''general  school  commis- 
sioner" at  its  head,  and  with  a  board  of  school  commissioners  in  each 
county,  who  should  make  semiannual  reports  to  the  "general  com- 
missioner." He  recommended  that  all  fines,  forfeitures,  and  licenses 
for  various  retail  businesses  should  be  set  aside  for  a  school  fund,  to 
which  he  wished  to  be  added  the  proceeds  from  a  direct  state  tax  of 
5  per  cent  of  the  state  and  county  taxes.  From  these  sources  the 
governor  estimated  that  the  school  fund  would  receive  $75,000  a  year. 
He  wished  this  fund  to  be  used  to  supplement  the  township  funds, 
wherever  they  were  insufiicient  to  maintain  a  free  school  for  at  least 
three  months  in  the  year. 

ADOPTION  OF  A  SCHOOL  SYSTEM;    ACT  OF  1 846 

After  receiving  the  governor's  message  the  legislature  framed  and 
passed  an  act  entitled,  "An  act  to  estabhsh  a  system  of  common  schools," 
which  the  governor  approved  March  4,  1846.^  The  act  followed  the 
recommendations  of  the  governor  as  to  the  general  organization  of  the 
school  system,  except  that  it  provided  that  the  secretary  of  state  should 
perform  the  duties  of  the  "general  school  commissioner."  The  greater 
part  of  the  power  and  authority  in  school  matters  was  taken  from  the 
township  trustees  and  centered  in  the  county  boards  of  school  commis- 
sioners,3  which  were  made  to  consist  of  one  member  from  each  of  the 
five  police  districts  in  each  county.  The  commissioners  were  to  organize 
with  a  president,  secretary,  and  treasurer,  and  were  required  to  hold 
quarterly  meetings,  receiving  such  compensation  for  their  services  as 
the  boards  of  police  of  the  counties  should  determine.  They  were  given 
complete  control  of  all  school  funds,  bonds,  stocks,  notes,  etc.,  held  by 
the  township  trustees,  including  the  sixteenth  section  funds,  but  were 
required  to  keep  a  separate  account  with  each  township  of  the  money 
arising  from  the  sixteenth  sections,  and  use  this  money  only  for  the 
township  to  which  it  belonged.  The  county  school  commissioners  were 
also  to  have  complete  control  over  their  "common  school  fund,"  which 
was  provided  by  an  appropriation  of  all  fines  and  the  license  fees  from 

'  Cluskey,  op.  cit.,  pp.  75-76;   Senate  Journal,  1846,  pp.  23  ff. 
2  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1846,  pp.  98-104. 
^  See  p.  no. 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1846-1860  43 

hawkers,  keepers  of  billiard  tables,  and  retailers  of  vinous  and  spirituous 
liquors  arising  within  their  respective  counties.  They  should  also  add 
to  this  county  fund  any  additional  moneys  that  might  accrue  from  a 
tax  which  the  county  boards  of  police  might  levy  under  certain 
conditions. 

The  commissioners  were  required  to  designate  what  schools  in  their 
respective  counties  should  be  deemed  "common  schools,"  and  to  have 
general  superintendence  of  them.  They  were  to  examine  teachers  and 
license  such  as  they  thought  qualified  to  teach  "  the  various  branches  of 
an  Enghsh  education  in  the  common  schools."  They  were  to  make 
contracts  with  teachers  and  to  pay  their  salaries  from  the  common 
school  fund.  Twice  each  year,  in  June  and  December,  they  were 
required  to  make  a  report  to  the  "general  school  commissioner,"  showing 
for  their  respective  counties  "the  situation  of  schools  and  school  funds; 
the  number  of  scholars  attending  school;  the  number  of  teachers,  and 
the  amount  paid  to  teachers  out  of  the  sixteenth  section  fund,  the  common 
school  fund,  and  by  private  individuals." 

The  secretary  of  state  as  ex  officio  "general  school  commissioner," 
was  required  to  preserve  the  reports  of  the  county  commissioners,  and 
to  pubhsh  in  January  and  July  of  each  year  abstracts  summarizing  the 
educational  work  of  the  state  as  a  whole.  For  these  services  he  was 
allowed  an  additional  compensation  of  $500  a  year. 

The  news  that  Mississippi  had  adopted  a  uniform  system  of  common 
schools  was  received  with  general  rejoicing  throughout  the  state.  When 
the  details  of  the  act  became  known,  however,  there  was  an  evident 
revulsion  of  feeling.^  Those  who  had  most  warmly  advocated  a  common 
school  system  felt  that  the  usefulness  of  the  act  was  practically  destroyed 
by  the  weakness  of  two  sections.  Section  6,  which  purported  to  provide 
for  a  direct  tax  for  the  benefit  of  the  common  schools,  as  Governor 
Brown  had  recommended,  was  found  only  to  authorize  the  boards  of 
police  to  levy  a  tax,  if  they  chose  to  do  so,  in  their  respective  counties. 
This  permissive  levy  could  not  exceed  the  state  tax  for  general  purposes, 
which  was  two  and  one-half  mills.  To  make  the  situation  worse  the 
boards  of  police  were  hampered  by  a  proviso  which  read  as  follows: 
The  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  resident  heads  of  families  in  each  township 
shall  be  filed  in  writing  and  recorded  on  the  minutes  of  said  board,  before 
such  tax  shall  be  levied  on  the  inhabitants  of  each  township. 

The  other  point  of  weakness  was  in  a  proviso  attached  to  section  12. 

It  permitted  any  township  to  be  exempted  from  the  provisions  of  the 

'  "Report  of  General  School  Commissioner,"  House  Journal,  1848,  pp.  1030-36. 


44  EDUCATION.AX  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

entire  act  by  a  majority  of  the  heads  of  famihes  fiHng  their  protest 
with  the  clerk  of  the  board  of  poHce  in  their  respective  counties  on  or 
before  the  first  day  of  March  in  each  year.  Such  a  protest  having  been 
filed,  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  protesting  township  was  entitled  to 
control  and  manage  the  funds  arising  from  the  lease  of  the  sixteenth 
section  of  the  township  under  the  laws  already  existing  before  the 
passage  of  this  act. 

It  is  clear  that  because  of  these  provisos  there  was  the  probabihty 
that,  instead  of  establishing  a  uniform  system  of  common  schools,  the 
act  would  bring  into  the  school  management  greater  variance  than  had 
existed  before.  It  was  possible  for  one  county  to  have  three  different 
schemes  in  operation  at  the  same  time,  if  the  board  of  police  should 
choose  to  levy  the  tax  that  was  permitted.  Some  townships  would 
probably  accept  the  tax;  others  might  accept  the  new  plan  of  organiza- 
tion of  the  school  work,  but  withhold  their  consent  to  the  tax  levy;  and 
a  third  group  might  protest  the  act  entirely  and  continue  to  operate 
under  the  previous  laws,  with  the  township  trustees  in  full  authority. 

When  the  legislature  assembled  in  1848  the  governor  submitted  the 
report  of  the  general  school  commissioner,  which  showed  that  most  of 
the  county  school  commissioners  had  failed  to  make  the  reports  to  him 
that  were  required  by  the  law.  There  was  no  penalty  for  failure  to 
report.  The  reports  that  were  sent  in  showed  general  lack  of  confidence 
in  the  law  and  opposition  to  it.  Only  a  few  schools  had  been  estabhshed 
under  the  act — three  in  Hinds  County,  three  in  Hohnes.  two  in  Leake, 
two  in  Lowndes,  none  in  Covington,  etc.  Some  townships  had  protested. 
In  many  places  nothing  had  been  done  to  put  the  act  into  operation.^ 

In  his  message  to  the  legislature  Governor  Brown  stated  that  the 
common  school  law  had  not  fulfilled  the  anticipations  of  its  friends,  and 
recommended  its  immediate  repeal  and  the  substitution  of  an  act  more 
in  accord  with  his  message  at  the  opening  of  the  session  of  1846.^  A 
bill  was  introduced  into  the  House  to  amend  the  act  of  1846  and  was 
referred  to  the  committee  on  education.  The  committee  apparently 
could  not  agree  upon  a  bill,  and  finally  asked  the  House  for  instructions 
as  to  whether  a  state  tax  should  be  included.  The  House  then  instructed 
the  committee  to  report  a  bill  providing  for  a  tax  for  common  schools 
of  not  less  than  25  per  cent  of  the  state  tax.^  The  committee  failed  to 
report  the  bill  and  asked  to  be  relieved  of  further  consideration  of  the 
matter.     The  bill  was  then  referred  to  a  select  committee  which  made 

^  House  Journal,  1848,  pp.  1030-36. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  26.  3  Ibid.,  pp.  579,  658. 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1846-1860 


45 


Compulsory  tax— township  control.  rm  Act  of  1846  without  amendment  permissive  tax- 

Tnfr^r  '"  ^'"""^  repeated-county       M  i^^^epeSeTfownship  control-no  tax. 
Use  of  county  fund  for  orphans  and  poor — no  tax — county  control. 


Common  School  Map  of  Mississippi  in  iJ 


46  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

a  hostile  report,  saying  it  was  their  ''firm  conviction  that  the  main 
features  of  the  act  of  March  4,  1846,  are  clearly  unconstitutional; 
that  no  legislative  enactment  is  legal  or  constitutional  which  has  for 
its  object  the  taking  out  of  the  hands  and  control  of  the  trustees  of 
townships  and  the  heads  of  famihes  of  townships  the  funds  arising  from 
the  sale  of  the  sixteenth  sections  to  invest  in  any  other  person  or  persons 
than  those  elected  by  the  heads  of  families  of  the  respective  townships." 
The  committee  also  pronounced  the  law  ''irregular,  impracticable,  and 
not  susceptible  of  general  operation,  and  consequently  of  no  public 
utility."^  Worse  than  all  this,  the  committee  failed  to  suggest  anything 
better  than  the  law  it  criticized. 

THE  MULTIPLICATION  OF  SYSTEMS 

The  legislature,  it  appears,  then  abandoned  the  attempt  to  construct 
a  law  that  would  be  satisfactory  to  the  state  as  a  whole  and  entered 
upon  a  policy  of  enacting  separate  laws  for  different  sections  of  the 
state.  For  Clarke,  Jasper,  Lauderdale,  Harrison,  Hancock,  and  Copiah 
counties  it  amended  the  act  of  1846  by  striking  out  the  objectional 
proviso  of  section  6,  thus  permitting  the  boards  of  poHce  in  these  counties 
to  levy  a  school  tax  on  their  own  initiative.^  For  the  counties  of 
Marshall,  Adams,  Chickasaw,  Lafayette,  and  Tippah  the  act  was 
amended  in  the  opposite  direction.  Assuming,  evidently,  that  the 
school  tax  would  not  be  levied  in  these  counties,  the  school  commissioners 
were  not  required  to  maintain  free  schools,  but  were  authorized  to  use 
their  distributive  share  of  the  state  school  fund  and  any  other  school 
revenue  that  might  come  into  their  hands  for  the  education  of  children 
of  the  county,  who  were  "from  any  cause  deprived  of  the  means  of  an 
education."^  A  third  act  was  passed,  and  made  appHcable  to  the 
counties  of  Hinds,  Holmes,  Tunica,  Jefferson,  Wilkinson,  Lawrence, 
and  Amite.  This  act  followed  Governor  Brown's  recommendation  to 
the  extent  that  it  repealed  the  act  of  1846  and  substituted  a  better  one, 
in  so  far  as  these  seven  counties  were  concerned.'*  Under  this  act  the 
assessment  of  a  special  school  tax  of  25  per  cent  of  the  state  tax  was 
made  obligatory  upon  the  boards  of  police. ^  The  act  provided  for 
completely  organized  county  systems  under  the  supervision  of  county 
superintendents,  who  were  required  to  visit  each  school  in  their  counties 

^  House  Journal,  1848,  p.  937. 

2  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1848,  pp.  143-44. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  145-47.  4  Ibid.,  pp.  185-96. 

s  Except  for  Wilkinson  and  Jefferson,  where  it  was  discretionary. 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1846-1860  47 

once  in  three  months.  The  county  superintendent  also  examined  and 
licensed  teachers.  The  townships  were  divided  into  districts,  to  contain 
''not  less  than  twenty  youth,"  but  sparsely  settled  townships  might 
constitute  one  district,  or  even  unite  with  other  townships  to  form  a 
district.  Under  this  act,  it  is  said,  that  schools  were  maintained  in 
some  instances  for  ten  months  in  the  year  without  tuition  charges.^ 
Such  schools  probably  were  rare,  but  there  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that 
the  school  situation  in  this  group  of  counties  was  fairly  satisfactory. 
In  a  fourth  act  the  legislature  repealed  the  act  of  1846  so  far  as  it  related 
to  sixteen  counties  of  the  state  and  restored  the  conditions  prior  to  1846, 
except  that  the  provision  for  county  school  funds  from  fines  and  hcense 
fees  was  retained.''  In  other  words,  these  sixteen  counties  returned  to 
the  plan  of  local  control  of  schools  through  the  township  trustees.  The 
remaining  counties  of  the  state  were  left  to  operate  their  schools  under 
the  act  of  1846  without  amendment.^  The  uniform  school  system  had 
been  replaced  by  five  distinct  systems,  if  the  word  system  may  be 
applied  to  the  counties  in  which  the  individual  townships  were  inde- 
pendent of  all  outside  control.'^ 

Thus  was  begun  a  series  of  special  acts  upon  the  organization  of 
the  common  schools  which  in  a  few  years  left  Mississippi  with  a  bewilder- 
ing maze  of  ''school  systems,"  large  and  small.  Groups  of  counties, 
single  counties,  single  townships,  and  even  municipalities  were  organized 
into  distinct  school  systems.  The  legislature  of  1850  passed  twenty-four 
acts  of  this  nature;  of  1852,  twenty;  of  1854,  sixteen;  and  by  i860 
the  total  special  legislation  on  the  subject  was  expressed  in  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  acts,  counting  the  shreds  of  the  original  act  of  1846, 
which  was  still  in  force  in  some  counties. 

Some  idea  of  the  multiplicity  of  the  legislation  of  common  schools 
may  be  obtained  by  tracing  the  several  acts  in  the  interest  of  one  county. 
The  county  of  Copiah  cannot  be  classed  among  the  most  progressive 
school  counties  of  the  period,  nor  was  it  one  of  the  laggards.     It  did 

^  Timberlake,  "Did  the  Reconstruction  Give  Mississippi  Her  Public  Schools?" 
Publications  of  the  Mississippi  Historical  Society,  XII,  79-80.  Miss  Timberlake 
quotes  statements  of  ante-bellum  teachers  living  at  the  time  she  wrote. 

2  These  counties  were  Noxubee,  Lowndes,  Yalobusha,  Winston,  Covington, 
Jefferson,  Neshoba,  Scott,  Newton,  Madison,  Bolivar,  Carroll,  Sunflower,  Talla- 
hatchie, Claiborne,  and  Kemper.     Laws  of  Mississippi,  1848,  pp.  201-4. 

3  An  exception  should  be  made  of  Marion  County,  for  which  a  special  act  so 
amended  the  law  of  1846  as  to  restrict  the  use  of  the  common  school  fund  to  the 
education  of  poor  children.     Laws  of  Mississippi,  1848,  pp.  199-201. 

4  See  Common  School  Map  of  Mississippi  in  1848,  p.  45. 


48  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

not  make  more  vital  changes  in  its  school  laws  than  some  of  the  other 
counties/  but  is  equalled  by  only  one  other  county  in  the  number  of 
acts  relative  to  its  schools.  It  was  one  of  the  counties  left  by  the  legisla- 
ture of  1848  under  the  school  law  of  1846  so  amended  that  the  objection- 
able proviso  of  section  6  was  removed.  In  other  words  the  machinery 
and  provisions  of  the  general  school  system  were  left  intact,  and  the 
board  of  poHce  was  free  to  supplement  the  county  school  funds  arising 
from  fines,  license  fees,  etc.,  with  a  tax  levy  not  to  exceed  two  and 
one-half  mills. 

After  four  years  under  the  amended  act  the  county  secured  a  further 
amendment,  by  which  the  method  of  distributing  the  county  school  fund 
was  changed."  This  amendment  contained  a  provision  exempting  any 
township  from  its  provisions  in  which  a  majority  of  the  voters  should 
file  a  written  protest  by  the  first  Monday  in  January,  1853.  We  are 
informed  in  the  preamble  of  an  act  passed  in  1854  that  some  townships 
had  availed  themselves  of  their  privilege  of  rejecting  the  amendment  o! 
1852,  but  had  repented  of  this  action.  It  was  therefore  enacted  that 
townships  which  had  protested  the  act  might  come  back  under  its 
provisions  by  filing  a  written  petition  to  that  effect,  signed  by  a  majority 
of  the  voters.3  The  legislature  of  1854  also  passed  an  act  "providing 
the  manner  in  which  teachers  of  common  schools  in  the  county  of 
Copiah"  should  present  their  claims  to  the  school  commissioners. ^ 

The  acts  thus  far  noted  were  all  in  effect  amendments  to  the  act  of 
1846,  and  the  county  was  still  nominally  under  the  general  school 
system.  In  1858  it  was  given  a  school  system  of  its  own  under  the 
title,  "An  act  to  estabUsh  a  system  of  common  schools  in  Copiah  county. "^ 
This  act  was  to  become  effective  as  soon  as  it  should  be  ascertained  that 
"a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  said  county  are  in  favor  of  taxation  for 
the  support  of  schools,"  and  it  provided  for  an  election  to  be  held  to 
determine  the  attitude  of  the  people.  The  act,  if  it  should  be  approved 
by  the  people,  required  that  the  board  of  police  should  levy  a  tax  sufficient 
to  cover  cost  of  tuition  for  every  child  between  the  ages  of  six  and 
twenty-one  years,  at  the  rate  of  ten  cents  a  day.  It  provided  also  that 
teachers  should  be  examined  and  licensed,  if  found  competent  to  teach 
spelling,  reading,  writing,  geography,  and  EngHsh  grammar,  and  if 
morally  qualified.  An  amendatory  act,  passed  at  the  same  session, 
»  Franklin  County  holds  the  record  for  important  changes  in  her  school  laws 
during  this  period,  and  equals  Copiah  in  the  number  of  acts. 
3  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1852,  pp.  3i3~iS- 
3  Ibid.,  1854,  p.  382.  -» Ibid.,  p.  398.  s  Ibid.,  pp.  94-99- 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1846-1860  49 

made  the  compensation  of  the  county  school  commissioners  the  same 
as  that  provided  for  the  members  of  the  board  of  poUce.'  The  people 
of  the  county  voted  their  approval  of  the  school  tax  and  the  law  became 
effective.  The  board  of  police  levied  a  tax  equal  to  the  total  state  tax.^ 
The  tax  seems  to  have  been  too  heavy  to  meet  general  approval,  for 
the  following  year  the  legislature  repealed  "the  common  school  law  of 
Copiah  county,"  and  revived  the  laws  prior  to  the  passage  of  that  act.^ 
The  repealing  act  levied  a  tax  of  50  per  cent  of  the  state  tax  on  the 
county  for  the  county  school  fund,  thus  cutting  in  half  the  levy  made  by 
the  county  board  of  police. 

GENERAL   CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE   SPECIAL  ACTS   ON   COMMON   SCHOOLS 

It  is  difficult  to  make  any  very  satisfactory  analysis  of  the  numerous 
special  school  acts  for  counties,  townships,  and  municipaUties  enacted 
during  the  fmal  decade  covered  by  this  study.  The  acts  vary  in  several 
important  particulars  and  in  a  large  number  of  minor  details.  Further- 
more, all  possible  combinations  appear  to  have  been  made  as  to  the 
variations  in  the  more  important  matters.  It  is  possible,  however,  to 
discover  one  almost  constant  characteristic  in  the  different  county 
systems,  and  to  note  the  attitude  of  the  several  counties,  often  varying 
in  the  same  county  during  the  decade,  toward  some  of  the  major  points 
upon  which  they  disagreed. 

The  one  point  which  practically  all  counties  of  the  state  had  in 
common  as  a  part  of  their  school  law  was  the  appropriation  of  all  revenue 
arising  in  the  several  counties  from  fines,  forfeitures,  and  certain  license 
fees  to  the  common  schools.  There  were  a  few  exceptions  to  even  this 
generalization.  In  one  county  this  revenue  prior  to  1857  was  appropri- 
ated to  an  orphan  asylum,^  and  in  another  a  part  of  it  was  for  a  time 
devoted  to  a  library  association.^  A  few  counties  for  a  part  of  the  time 
assigned  a  part  or  all  of  the  money  from  these  sources  to  academies.^ 
The  exceptions,  however,  are  so  few  that  it  may  be  considered  the 
general  policy  of  the  state  to  appropriate  all  revenue  from  the  sources 
named  to  common  schools  in  the  counties  in  which  the  revenue  had  its 
origin.  So  generally  was  this  accepted  that  when  the  commissioners 
appointed  "  to  revise,  digest,  and  codify  the  laws  of  this  State,  and  to 

^  Ibid.,  1858,  p.  148.  3  Ibid. 

=»  Ibid.,  1859,  pp.  72-73.  ^  See  p.  96. 

5  In  Yazoo  City,  1846-57.  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1846,  p.  231. 

^  See  p.  125. 


50  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

propose  such  alterations  or  amendments  thereof,  and  such  new  laws, 
as  they  might  deem  expedient,"  made  their  report  in  the  form  of  the 
Revised  Code  of  1857,  they  omitted  from  the  new  code  all  reference  to 
common  schools  except  the  following  article: 

The  moneys  arising  from  fines,  forfeitures,  and  amercements,  and  from 
Hcenses  that  may  be  granted  to  alleys,  hawkers,  and  peddlers,  and  to  retailers 
of  vinous  or  spirituous  Hquors,  that  are,  or  may  be  made,  by  law,  payable  into 
the  county  or  state  treasuries;  and  all  moneys,  after  defraying  costs,  that 
shall  arise  from  sales  of  estrays  and  runaway  slaves,  and  which  shall  not  be 
claimed  by  the  owners  thereof  within  the  time  limited  by  law, — shall  be 
appropriated  by  the  boards  of  police  of  the  counties  respectively,  to  the  use 
and  benefit  of  common  or  free  schools,  in  their  said  counties,  according  to  the 
laws  now  in  force  in  said  counties  respectively;  Provided,  that  when  there  shall 
be  no  such  schools  in  a  county,  nor  any  law  establishing  such  schools  in  said 
county,  then  said  moneys  may  be  appropriated  to  such  county  purposes  as  the 
board  of  police  thereof  may  direct.^ 

There  were  four  important  points  upon  which  the  counties  differed 
radically  in  their  school  laws.  These  points  of  diasgreement  were 
concerned  with  the  following  questions:  (i)  the  control  of  schools  and 
school  funds;  (2)  the  method  of  distributing  county  funds;  (3)  whether 
or  not  there  should  be  direct  taxation  for  common  schools,  and,  if  so, 
the  amount  of  the  tax;  (4)  the  manner  in  which  the  school  funds  should 
be  applied. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  control  of  common  schools  prior  to 
1846  had  been  completely  in  the  hands  of  township  trustees,  and  that 
the  common  school  act  of  1846  transferred  control  to  the  county  com- 
missioners, except  in  such  townships  as  should  reject  the  act  creating 
the  common  school  system.  There  was  a  marked  tendency  from  1848 
to  i860  to  return  the  authority  to  the  township  trustees.  Of  the  sixty 
counties^  in  the  state  at  this  time  about  one-half  had  returned  to 
township  control  by  1860.^ 

The  existence  of  a  county  school  fund  arising  from  fines,  forfeitures, 
and  license  fees  in  nearly  all  of  the  counties  made  it  necessary  that  ways 
and  means  should  be  found  for  handling  this  fund  and  distributing 
it  to  the  townships  in  those  counties  which  returned  to  the  township 
plan  of  control.  In  some  of  these  counties  the  commissioners  of  educa- 
tion were  retained,  apparently,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  distributing  the 

»  Revised  Code  of  the  Statute  Laws  of  the  State  of  Mississippi,  1857,  p.  367. 

2  Fifty-nine  counties  in  1848,  but  Calhoun  was  added  to  the  list  in  1852. 

3  See  p.  III. 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1846-18G0  51 

county  funds  to  the  township  trustees.'  In  other  counties  this  duty 
was  imposed  upon  the  board  of  police.  The  basis  of  distribution  also 
varied.  In  some  counties  each  township  was  given  an  equal  share  ;^ 
in  others,  each  township  received  a  sum  proportionate  to  its  number  of 
educable  children;  and  in  still  others  the  county  funds  were  so  distrib- 
uted as  to  equaUze  the  educational  opportunities  of  the  several  town- 
ships— a  larger  portion  being  given  to  townships  without  sixteenth 
section  funds,  and  a  smaller  share  in  proportion  to  the  increase  in  size 
of  that  fund.  One  county  distributed  its  fund  only  to  the  townships 
which  levied  a  direct  tax  sufficient  to  ''maintain  a  free  school  twelve 
months  or  less."^ 

Upon  the  question  of  a  direct  tax  for  the  support  of  common  schools 
the  legislation  of  the  period  provided  in  most  counties  for  a  permissive 
tax  of  25  per  cent  of  the  state  tax.4  In  a  number  of  the  counties  there 
was  a  compulsory  county  tax,  and  in  a  few  counties  a  permissive  township 
tax,  which  was  sometimes  supplementary  to  a  county  tax. 

There  were  two  points  upon  which  the  counties  could  not  agree  as 
to  the  application  of  the  county  school  funds:  (i)  whether  the  funds 
should  be  expended  annually  as  they  were  received  or  be  retained  as  a 
county  endowment  fund,  the  interest  upon  the  fund  alone  being  used 
for  the  schools;  (2)  for  what  purpose,  whether  principal  or  interest, 
the  school  fund  should  be  used.  As  a  rule  it  was  only  the  poorer  and 
most  sparsely  settled  counties  that  adopted  the  plan  of  using  the  school 
fund  as  an  endowment.^  Upon  the  question  of  the  purpose  for  which 
the  funds  should  be  used  the  counties  may  be  divided  into  four  classes: 
(i)  those  in  which  the  matter  was  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  township 
trustees;  (2)  those  in  which  the  state  law  prescribed  that  the  funds  should 
be  used  for  paying  the  tuition  of  orphans  and  indigent  children;  (3) 
those  in  which  it  was  apportioned  among  the  educable  children  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  days  they  attended  school;  and  (4)  those 
in  which  it  was  used  to  pay  the  salaries  of  teachers  of  public  schools. 
Most  of  the  counties  maintaining  the  pubHc  schools  had  provisions  in 
the  school  law  that  if  the  public  funds  were  insufficient  to  maintain  the 
schools  they  should  be  supplemented  by  subscriptions  or  tuition  rates.^ 

'  See  chapter  on  administration,  pp.  1 10-12. 

2  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1854,  pp.  349,  458;   1856,  p.  109. 

3  Franklin  County,  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1854,  pp.  527-28. 

4  See  table  on  p.  121.  s  See  list  of  these  counties  in  footnote  on  p.  119. 

6  Exceptions  to  this  are  the  acts  establishing  "systems"  for  the  counties  of 
Yazoo  (Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850,  pp.  145-46),  Holmes  (Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850, 
pp.  160-67),  Tishomingo  and  Itawamba  (Laws  of  Mississippi,  1854,  pp.  474-79)» 
and  Copiah  (Laws  of  Mississippi,  1858,  pp.  96-99). 


52 


EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 


TABLE  ni 

Purposes  for  Which  County  School  Funds  Were  Used 


Counties 

Left  to 
Township 
Trustees 

Tuition  of 
Orphans  and 
Poor  Children 

Apportioned 

to  Educable 

Children 

To  Maintain 
Public  Schoob 

AHam'; 

1850- 

1848-50 

Amite 

1848- 

Attala 

l85C^ 

1848-50 

1848- 

C^^  IViniin 

1856-59 

1859- 

Carroll 

1848- 

1848- 
1856-59 

Choctaw* 

1850-56 
1848-50 

1859- 

(1848-50) 

1850- 

Clarke 

1859- 

1848-59 

(1848-60);  1860- 

Copiah                 

i852-58;i859- 

(1848-52);  1858-59 

De  Soto 

1848-56 

1856- 
1852-54 

FrankHn 

1858- 

(1848-52);  1854-58 

(1848-58) 

(1848-54);  1854- 

Harrison 

(1848-) 

Hmds 

1848- 

Holmes 

1848- 

Issaquena 

1852- 

(1848-52) 

1856- 

(1848-56) 

(1848-) 

TasDer 

1852-59 

1859- 
1852- 

(1848-52) 

Jefferson 

1848-52 

Jonest 

(1848-52) 

1848- 

T.a  fa  vptfp 

1848-59 

1859- 

Lauderdale 

(1848-50);  1850- 

Lawrence . .                 .... 

i85c^ 

1848-50 

Leake 

(1848-) 

Lowndes 

1848- 
1848-50 

1850- 

Marion 

i848-54;i858- 
1859- 

1856-57 

(1854-56) 

Marshall 

1848-59 

185a- 

1848-60 

1848-52 

1848- 

1852-56 

Monroe 

(1848-50) 

Neshoba 

i86(^ 

1852- 

Oktibbeha 

1856- 
1856-59 

(1848-52) 

Panola .... 

1859- 

(1848-56) 

Perrv§ 

(1848-58) 

Pike 

1854- 

(1848-54) 

Pontotoc 

1848-56 

1850- 

1848-50 

1856- 

Rankin 

(1848-50) 

Scott 

1850- 

Simpson 

(1848-56);  1856- 

(1848-58);  1858- 

Sunflower 

1848-60 
1848-56 

1860- 

Tallahatchie 

1856- 

1848-59 

1856-59 

TioDahll 

1859- 
1859- 

Tishomingo 

(1848-54);  1854-56 

ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1846-1860 
TABLE  III— Continued 


53 


Counties 

Left  to 
Township 
Trustees 

Tuition  of 
Orphans  and 
Poor  Children 

Apportioned 

to  Educable 

Children 

To  Maintain 
Public  Schools 

Tunica^ 

1850- 
1850- 

1848-50 
(1848-50) 
(1848-59);  1859- 
1848-50;    1852- 

Warren 

Wavne 

Wilkinson** 

1850-52 

Winston 

1848- 

1848-52 

1848-50 

Yalobushaft 

1856- 

Yazoo 

1850- 

*  Dates  in  parentheses  in  last  column  indicate  period  county  was  operating  under  act  of  1846. 

t  After  1858  schools  in  Greene  were  controlled  by  boards  of  trustees  for  each  of  the  five  police  districts 
of  the  county,  who  determined  how  the  funds  should  be  applied. 

t  After  1850  county  commissioners  in  Jones  County  were  required  to  lend  funds,  both  principal  and 
interest,  as  it  accrued  until  interest  got  large  enough  to  establish  one  free  school  in  each  police  district. 
Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850,  pp.  226-28. 

§  Funds  to  be  applied  by  three  trustees  in  each  police  district  as  they  "think  best."  Laws  of  Mis- 
sissippi, 1858,  pp. 184-85. 

i  I  Trustees  were  required  to  invest  funds  in  railroad  stock,  and  use  dividends  only  for  schools.  Laws 
of  Mississippi,  1852,  pp.  93-94. 

H  Funds  to  be  apportioned  after  1850  to  those  only  who  expressed  a  desire  to  benefit  from  them. 
**  From  1850  to  1852  funds  apportioned  to  those  who  apply  for  them. 
tt  School  fund,  principal  and  interest,  lent  as  it  came  in  from  1852  to  1856. 

In  Table  III  the  use  to  which  the  county  school  funds  were  put  in 
the  several  counties  is  shown  for  the  twelve  years  following  1848. 
Counties  in  which  the  law  provided  that  the  funds  should  be  used  to 
pay  teachers'  salaries  of  public  schools  may  be  divided  into  two  classes — 
those  operating  under  special  county  acts  and  those  under  the  common 
school  act  of  1846.  It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  what  proportion  of  the 
townships  in  the  latter  group  of  counties  had  used  their  legal  power  to 
nullify  the  act  of  1846  and  thus  take  to  themselves  the  power  to  control 
their  funds  in  their  own  way.  These  counties  are  distinguished  from 
those  operating  under  special  county  acts  by  putting  parentheses  around 
the  dates  representing  a  period  during  which  the  act  of  1846  was  opera- 
tive in  each  county  that  remained  under  that  act  after  1848. 

In  addition  to  the  chief  points  of  disagreement  upon  school  laws 
among  the  counties  that  have  been  discussed,  there  are  a  few  other 
topics  touched  upon  now  and  then  that  deserve  mention  here.  As  to 
the  question  of  licensing  teachers  and  supervising  schools  there  is  Httle 
to  be  found  in  the  special  acts  of  the  period.  The  tendency,  apparently, 
was  to  trust  to  local  trustees  to  determine  the  fitness  of  teachers,  and 
little  or  no  supervision  was  pro\nded.^ 

There  is  also  little  in  the  legislation  from  1846  to  i860  to  indicate 
the  curriculum  of  the  common  schools.     As  a  rule  the  legislators  assumed 

^  See  chapter  on  administration  and  supervision,  p.  113. 


54  EDUCATION.\L  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

that  it  was  generally  understood  what  they  meant  by  the  ''common 
English  branches,"  or  "the  rudiments  of  an  English  education."  The 
few  cases  in  which  the  curriculum  is  mentioned  more  concretely  indicate 
that  there  had  been  no  change  from  the  old  formal  course  of  the  three 
R's,  except  that  the  addition  of  spelling  and  English  grammar  to  the 
elementary  curriculum  was  more  generally  recognized,  and  that  geog- 
raphy was  coming  to  be  regarded  as  an  elementary  subject.  The  act  of 
1848,  providing  for  a  school  system  for  seven  counties,  which  has  been 
referred  to  several  times  in  this  chapter,  required  teachers  to  be  qualified 
to  teach  at  least  ''reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic,"  and  provided 
that  they  might  teach  other  subjects,  not  specified,  provided  they  were 
examined  in  these  additional  subjects  by  the  county  superintendent  and 
the  fact  of  their  competency  in  these  additional  subjects  was  written 
into  their  Hcense.  In  an  act  passed  in  1850  the  legislature  defined  a 
common  school  as  "a  school  for  teaching  reading,  writing,  arithmietic, 
and  EngHsh  grammar,"  but  the  act  applied  only  to  the  county  of  Holmes.^ 
In  1858  a  sUghtly  extended  list  of  common  school  studies  was  given 
by  the  legislature,  which  curiously  enough  omitted  arithmetic.  The 
studies  listed  were  "spelling,  reading,  writing,  geography,  and  EngUsh 
grammar."^ 

LEGISLATION  FOR  TOWNSHIPS 

We  have  considered  thus  far  the  legislation  from  1848  to  i860  as  it 
appHed  to  counties  and  to  groups  of  counties.  It  is  necessary  to  consider 
briefly  how  this  legislation  affected  the  townships  in  respect  to  their 
sixteenth  sections,  and  also  to  note  a  number  of  special  acts  for  particular 
townships. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  when  the  common  school  system  of  1846 
was  adopted  the  general  management  of  the  sixteenth  sections  and  the 
sixteenth  section  funds  was  taken  from  the  township  trustees  and  given 
to  the  county  commissioners.  The  act  provided,  however,  that  the 
income  from  any  given  sixteenth  section  or  sixteenth  section  fund  must 
be  expended  in  the  township  to  which  the  section  or  fund  belonged.^ 
This  principle,  it  appears,  was  observed  in  all  the  legislation  of  the 
period  which  left  the  control  of  schools  and  school  lands  in  the  hands  of 
county  commissioners  of  education  or  boards  of  poHce.  In  all  cases 
where  the  control  of  schools  was  returned  to  the  township  trustees,  these 
trustees  also  resumed  their  authority  over  the  township  school  lands 

'  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850,  p.  165. 

'  Ibid.,  1858,  pp.  94-99.  3  See  p.  42  of  this  chapter. 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1846-1860  55 

or  school  funds.  The  act  of  1833,  permitting  the  leasing  of  school  lands 
for  ninety-nine  years,  was  not  repealed  by  the  common  school  law  in 
1846,'  nor  was  it  changed  materially  by  any  of  the  special  legislation  that 
followed.^ 

There  are  several  instances  where  the  legislature  indicates  its  res- 
ponsiveness to  local  wishes  in  respect  to  schools  either  by  exempting  a 
township  from  the  provisions  of  a  general  county  act  or  by  enacting  a 
special  act  for  a  township.  An  act  of  March  3,  1850,  extended  the 
Hohnes  County  school  law  to  Yazoo  County,  but  excepted  township  12, 
range  2,  west.^  Similarly,  townships  16,  range  3,  east,  and  17,  range  5, 
east,  were  excepted  from  laws  applying  to  Warren  County.""  Town- 
ship 6,  range  2,  west,  in  Hinds  County  and  township  10,  range  i,  east, 
in  Yazoo  County  were  also  favored  with  special  acts.  The  act  for  the 
township  in  Hinds  County,  however,  was  repealed  in  1856.5  In  all 
cases  the  effect  of  these  special  acts  was  to  set  up  an  independent  town- 
ship school  or  group  of  schools  entirely  under  the  authority  of  the 
township  trustees.  The  two  townships  mentioned  in  Warren  County 
were  authorized  to  levy  a  special  tax  for  the  township  schools,  provided 
there  should  be  a  favorable  vote  in  the  referendum  election  required  in  the 
acts.^  The  act  relative  to  township  17,  range  5,  east,  contains  the 
information  that  there  were  three  schools  maintained  by  the  township. 

SOME  CAUSES  OF  THE  DISSOLUTION  OF  THE  COMMON  SCHOOL  SYSTEM 

The  breaking  up  of  the  common  school  system  of  Mississippi  was 
brought  about  by  several  factors.  In  the  first  place,  the  legislature  of 
1846  was  lukewarm  over  the  project,  and  passed  an  act  that  could  satisfy 
neither  friend  nor  foe.  Then  in  1848  Governor  Brown  was  sent  to 
Congress,  thus  removing  from  state  politics  the  strongest  influence  for 
the  uniform  system.  Brown's  term  as  governor  expired  in  January, 
1848,  before  the  legislature  passed  any  of  its  series  of  acts  on  common 
schools.     A  more  fundamental  factor  in  producing  the  dissolution  of  the 

I  Sec.  10  of  the  act  made  it  the  duty  of  the  county  commissioners  to  lease  sections 
that  had  not  been  leased  as  then  "directed  by  law."    Laws  of  Mississippi,  1846,  p.  100 . 

»  Marion  County  is  an  exception  to  this  statement.  In  1857  an  act  "  to  amend  the 
school  laws  of  Marion  County"  limited  the  term  for  which  school  lands  might  be 
leased  to  twenty  years.  The  following  year,  however,  it  was  extended  to  one  hundred 
years.     Laws  of  Mississippi,  1857,  pp.  11 5-19;    1858,  p.  149. 

3  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1848,  pp.  156.  ^  Ibid.,  1850,  pp.  i49)  i59- 

5  Ibid.,  1854,  pp.  260-61;   1856,  p.  367;   1850,  pp.  469-74- 

^  Ibid.,  1852,  pp.  190-91;   i860,  pp.  365-66. 


56  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

state  system  was  the  lack  of  homogeneity  among  the  counties  of  the 
state.  There  was  considerable  variation  in  the  density  of  population 
and  the  wealth  of  the  different  counties  and  the  different  sections  of 
the  state.^  In  some  counties  there  were  villages  and  towns;  in  others, 
there  were  only  the  broad,  spreading,  cotton  plantations,  with  perhaps 
a  hamlet  of  a  dozen  homes  clustered  around  the  county  court-house. 
The  people  of  some  counties  evidently  had  advanced  ideas  concerning 
pubHc  education;  those  of  other  counties  clung  tenaciously  to  their 
preference  for  private  schools,  in  which  they  were  willing  to  have  the 
children  of  the  poor  educated  at  public  expense.  Another  important 
factor  that  mihtated  against  the  uniform  system  was  the  intense  demo- 
cratic feehng  of  the  state.  There  was  prevalent  that  type  of  democracy 
that  sets  itself  against  any  tendency  toward  the  centraUzation  of 
authority  and  strives  to  retain  the  greatest  possible  degree  of  power  in 
the  hands  of  local  communities.  Even  so  progressive  a  county  as 
Warren,  containing  within  its  borders  the  town  of  Vicksburg,  secured  a 
special  act  from  the  legislature  in  1850,  in  which  it  was  declared: 

It  is  the  intention  of  this  act  to  give  the  different  townships  full  and  entire 
control,  through  their  five  trustees  so  elected,  to  manage  their  schools  in  their 
own  way.^ 

THE  CHICKASAW  COUNTIES 

One  source  of  opposition  to  a  common  school  system,  apparently,  is 
to  be  found  in  the  group  of  counties  formed  from  the  Chickasaw  cession. 
The  prevailing  idea  as  to  common  schools  in  this  group  of  counties  was 
that  the  state  had  no  rights  or  obligations  in  the  premises  other  than  to 
provide  for  the  education  of  orphans  and  indigent  children.  The  only 
common  school  act,  if  it  is  permissible  to  use  the  term  to  designate  it, 
after  1850  that  involved  any  large  group  of  counties,  was  the  act  passed 
in  1856  to  establish  a  uniform  school  policy  for  the  counties  of  Tippah, 
Marshall,  De  Soto,  Lafayette,  Pontotoc,  Itawamba,  Tishomingo, 
Chickasaw,  Oktibbeha,  Calhoun,  Choctaw,  and  Yalobusha,  under  the 
title,  "An  act  to  secure  the  interest  on  the  school  funds  belonging  to  the 
counties  embraced  in  the  Chickasaw  cession,  and  for  other  purposes."^ 
The  provisions  of  the  act  were  extended  in  1858  to  the  counties  of 
Tallahatchie  and  Panola.^  This  act  of  1856  provided  that  in  the  counties 
named  the  county  school  commissioners  should  employ  the  county  school 

^  See  Table  II,  chap.  i. 

=^Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850  (Regular  Session),  p.  157. 
3  Ihid.,  1856,  pp.  81-86.  4  Ibid.,  1858,  p.  133. 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1846-1860  57 

funds  from  escheats,  fines,  and  the  usual  hcense  fees,  together  with  the 
county's  pro  rata  of  the  interest  from  the  Chickasaw  fund,  for  paying 
the  tuition  of  poor  children,  giving  preference  to  destitute  orphans. 

The  chief  reasons  for  the  failure  of  these  counties  to  provide  for 
common  schools,  supported  wholly  or  in  part  at  public  expense,  seem 
to  lie  in  the  character  of  the  settlers  and  in  the  plan  adopted  by  the 
federal  government  in  its  donation  of  public  lands  for  school  purposes  in 
these  counties.  The  Chickasaw  lands  were  opened  for  settlement  in 
1836.  A  flood  of  immigrants  from  the  South  Atlantic  states  and 
Tennessee  rapidly  populated  the  new  country,  bringing  with  them  the 
educational  ideas  of  these  states  at  that  time.  These  people  had  no 
acquaintance  with  publicly  supported  free  schools,  or  even  with  the 
Mississippi  township  school,  partly  supported  by  its  sixteenth  section, 
and  frequently  supplemented  by  other  public  funds. 

The  failure  of  the  general  government  to  reserve  the  sixteenth  sections 
in  the  Chickasaw  cession  took  away  an  incentive  that  might  have  done 
much  to  develop  the  ideal  of  the  township  public  school  in  the  counties 
carved  from  this  cession.  In  lieu  of  the  sixteenth  sections.  Congress 
granted  to  the  state  for  the  endowment  of  public  education  in  the  Chicka- 
saw territory  public  lands  within  the  state  equal  in  area  to  one  thirty- 
sixth  of  the  area  of  the  Chickasaw  country.^  Several  years  passed, 
however,  before  the  lands  were  selected  and  accepted  by  the  state.^ 
In  1854  these  lands  were  ordered  sold  by  the  state  government  and  the 
sale  was  approved  by  Congress.^  In  1856  the  state  borrowed  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  sale  at  8  per  cent,  and  ordered  the  interest  prorated  to  the 
Chickasaw  counties  in  proportion  to  their  area.-*  Thus  it  was  twenty 
years  after  the  opening  of  this  section  of  the  state  for  settlement  before 
the  school  lands  brought  in  an  appreciable  income  for  educational 
purposes. 

TOWN  AND  VILLAGE  SCHOOLS 

Mississippi  had  no  cities  within  her  borders  prior  to  the  Civil  War. 
Natchez  and  Vicksburg  were  her  largest  towns.  In  both  of  these  towns, 
and  in  several  others,  common  schools  were  maintained  either  under 
provisions  in  the  charter  of  the  town  or  under  special  enactments  of  the 
legislature. 

The  earliest  free  school  in  the  state  was  in  a  sense  a  township  school, 
but  was  located  in  the  town  of  Columbus  and  eventually  became  the 

'  United  Stales  Statutes  at  Large,  V,  116. 

"  See  further  discussion  of  Chickasaw  lands  and  fund,  pp.  1 15-16. 

3  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1854,  p.  348.  ■♦  Ibid.,  1856,  p.  141. 


58  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

city  school.  This  httle  town  was  so  fortunate  from  an  educational 
standpoint  as  to  be  located  partly  on  the  sixteenth  section  of  its  township. 
The  school  land  was  divided  into  town  lots  and  leased  for  ninety-nine 
years,  a  portion  at  a  time  as  the  town  developed.  With  the  proceeds 
a  free  school  with  both  elementary  and  secondary  courses  has  been 
maintained  since  1 8  2 1 .  The  school  was  chartered  as  Franklin  Academy.^ 
After  1 83 1  the  trustees  were  elected  annually  by  the  qualified  electors  of 
the  township.^ 

A  free  school  has  also  been  maintained  in  Jackson  since  1845. 
Originally  the  school  was  the  preparatory  department  of  Jackson  College 
and  was  for  boys  only.  The  charter  of  the  college  begins  with  a  preamble 
explaining  the  origin  of  the  school,  which  reads  as  follows: 

Whereas,  during  the  year  1845,  a  school  was  commenced  in  the  city  of 
Jackson,  in  which  are  taught  the  various  branches  of  a  collegiate  education, 
under  the  superintendence  of  the  governor  and  chief  officers  of  the  state,  and 
the  mayor  and  selectmen  of  the  city,  as  the  acknowledged  visitors  thereof, 
and  by  the  liberality  and  active  exertions  of  many  of  its  citizens,  all  boys  who  are 
learning  the  elementary  branches  of  an  EngHsh  education  may  be  taught  the 
same  in  the  preparatory  department  in  said  school  free  of  charge,  etc.^ 

In  1846  the  legislature  donated  to  the  city  of  Jackson  certain  lots  for 
school  purposes  to  be  managed  by  a  board  of  trustees  consisting  of 
seven  citizens,  who  were  required  to  erect  thereon  two  substantial 
brick  buildings  to  be  known  as  the  Jackson  Male  Academy  and  the 
Jackson  Female  Academy.  These  schools  were  to  become  free  schools 
whenever  the  citizens  and  authorities  should  desire  and  should  provide 
means  for  sustaining  them.^  Just  when  the  city  authorities  assumed 
the  responsibiUty  of  maintaining  the  schools  has  not  been  ascertained, 
but  there  is  evidence  that  the  town  was  maintaining  a  free  school  in 
1850,  and  had  for  its  principal  a  native  Mississippian  who  had  graduated 
from  Harvard. 5 

Natchez  was  the  oldest  and  largest  town  in  Mississippi  in  the  ante- 
bellum days,  and  had  what  was  probably  the  best  public  free  school. 
The  citizens  of  the  town  established  the  school  in  1845,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  secured  an  amendment  to  the  city  charter,  authorizing  a  tax 
levy  not  to  exceed  $10,000  per  annum  for  the  support  of  the  school.^ 

I  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1821,  pp.  73-75- 

'  Ibid.,  183 1,  p.  120.  3  Ibid.,  1846,  p.  419-  "  ^^^<^-y  1846,  p.  359- 

s  Timberlake,  op.  cit.,  p.  79. 

6  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1846,  pp.  279-80.  In  his  report  to  Governor  Brown  in 
1848  relative  to  the  proposed  state  teachers'  normal,  Judge  J.  S.  B.  Thatcher  gives 
the  following  interesting  account  of  this  school: 

"On  the  fourth  of  July,  1845,  the  citizens  of  Natchez  established  a  system  of 
pubhc  schools  for  all  the  free  white  children  over  five  years  of  age,  within  the  Umits 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  184G-1860  59 

Vicksburg  also  had  a  flourishing  school  as  early  as  1848  with 
Dr.  J.  G.  Holland,  later  editor  of  Scribner's  Magazine,  as  principal/ 
The  school  was  supported  by  a  tax  levy,  authorized  in  1848  by  a  special 
tax  levy  for  the  township  in  which  the  town  was  located.^  Nominally 
the  school  was  a  township  school,  but  was  located  in  the  town,  and 
was  generally  looked  upon  as  the  school  of  the  municipality.  The  tax 
levy  for  its  support  in  1849  amounted  to  $5,000.^ 

That  a  common  school  was  already  established  in  the  town  of 
Woodville  in  1850  is  indicated  by  the  act  of  the  legislature  passed  in  that 
year  under  the  title,  "An  act  to  provide  for  the  common  school  within 
the  corporation  of  the  town  of  Woodville."  This  act  provided  that  all 
license  fees  from  brokers  and  Uquor  retailers  within  the  town  should  be 
appropriated  "exclusively  for  common  school  purposes  within  said 
corporation  of  Woodville. "^ 

The  town  of  Shieldsborough,  in  Hancock  County,  in  1852  was  given 
an  independent  school  "system,"  with  the  president  and  select  men  of 
the  town  as  a  board  of  trustees.  A  fund  for  the  support  of  the  school  was 
created  by  appropriating  all  funds  arising  within  the  town  from  licenses 
to  saloons,  billiard  halls,  hawkers,  and  peddlers.  The  president  and 
selectmen  were  authorized  to  levy  a  school  tax  not  to  exceed  50  per 
cent  of  the  state  tax,  whenever  a  majority  of  the  freeholders  should 
petition  for  it.s  The  tax  was  probably  approved,  for  two  years  later 
an  amendment  to  the  act  provided  that  the  school  should  be  free  to 
all  children  over  five  and  under  eighteen  years  of  age.^ 

For  the  other  small  towns  of  the  state  there  was  no  special  school 
legislation,  except  for  the  academies  which  were  located  in  many  of  them. 


of  the  city.  These  schools  are  conducted  by  a  board  of  seven  visitors,  a  principal,  and 
thirteen  teachers,  including  a  teacher  of  writing.  The  course  of  education  embraces, 
besides  the  common  branches,  those  of  a  higher  order  required  for  admission  into  the 
first  universities  of  the  Union.  Since  the  commencement  of  the  school  there  have  been 
admitted  829  pupils,  male  and  female,  and  75  have  been  discharged  to  seek  admission 
into  colleges  and  counting  houses,  and  to  pursue  trades  and  other  avocations  in  life. 
The  result  of  this  experiment  has  been  to  fasten  the  system  upon  the  affection  of  the 
people,  and  to  induce  them  to  ingraft  into  the  charter  of  their  corporation  a  provision 
requiring  the  annual  levy,  by  taxation,  of  a  sum  not  greater  than  $10,000  for  the 
support  of  this  system  of  education.  It  is  not  hazarding  too  much  to  assert  that 
these  schools  will  compare  favorably  with  any  other  public  schools,  or  any  academies  of 
like  grade,  in  the  United  States."     House  Journal,  1848,  p.  41. 

1  Timberlake,  op.  cit.,  p.  78.  •»  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850,  p.  131- 

2  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1848,  pp.  196-98.         s  Jbid.,  1852,  pp.  486-90. 

3  Timberlake,  op.  cit.,  p.  78.  ^  Ibid.,  1854,  pp.  324-25- 


6o 


EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 


These  municipalities,  apparently,  were  content  to  operate  their  common 
schools  under  the  laws  relative  to  their  counties. 

COMMON  SCHOOL  STATUS  AT  THE  END  OF  THE  PERIOD 

Notwithstanding  the  handicap  under  which  Mississippi  labored  both 
on  account  of  her  sparse  population  and  on  account  of  the  disorganized 
condition  of  her  educational  affairs,  noteworthy  progress  was  made  from 
1850  to  i860.  A  state  appropriation  of  $300,000,  which  was  distributed 
to  the  counties  for  common  schools  on  conditions  which  required  the 
raising  of  $75,000  from  county  school  levies  within  the  counties  receiving 
the  state  funds,  must  have  given  a  considerable  impetus  to  the  schools.^ 
According  to  the  United  States  census  of  i860  there  were  then  in  Missis- 
sippi 1,116  public  schools  with  1,215  teachers,  and  an  annual  income  of 
$385,679.  Of  this  amount,  the  census  report  states  that  $21,225  came 
from  endowment,  $29,689  from  school  taxes,  $107,947  from  pubUc 
funds,  and  $226,  818  from  ''other  sources"  not  named.^ 

A  more  accurate  conception  of  Mississippi's  status  from  a  common 
school  standpoint  can  be  obtained  by  a  comparison  with  other  states, 
such  as  is  given  in  Table  IV.     The  states  of  Illinois  and  Indiana  were 

TABLE  IV 

Comparative  Status  of  Common  Schools  in  Illinois,  Indiana,  and 
Mississippi  in  i860 


Basis  of  Comparison 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Mississippi 

White  children  per  1,000  population  in  all  schools 

White  children  per  1,000  population  in  public  schools  . 

"Di.kIt^  f-/^Vi/-v/->l  in<^r>mA  r>pr  T  non  nomi Ifition.                    .  .  . 

236 

253* 

$1,277 

34 

249 
217 
$508 

46 

192 
$1,114 

White  illiterates  over  twenty  years  of  age  per  1,000 

44 

*  There  is  an  evident  discrepancy  in  the  census  figures  for  Illinois.     More  pupils  are  reported  in 
the  public  schools  than  in  all  schools. 

chosen  because  they  represent  the  northwest  and  Mississippi  the  south- 
west, and  because  they  were  organized  as  American  territory  only  eleven 
years  earlier  than  Mississippi,  and  were  admitted  as  states,  one  the 
year  before  and  the  other  the  year  after  Mississippi  attained  statehood. 
The  figures  in  the  table  are  based  upon  the  United  States  census  reports 
for  1860.3  If  these  figures  are  at  all  accurate,  Mississippi  was  expending 
»  See  chapter  XI  on  federal  and  state  aid  to  education. 

2  Census  of  the  United  States,  The  Eighth:   i860,  volume  on  "Population,"  p.  276, 
and  on  "Mortality  and  Miscellaneous,"  p.  506. 

3  Census  Report,  op.  cit. 


ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION,  1846-1860  6 1 

a  reasonable  sum  on  her  public  schools,'  but  was  sending  most  of  her 
boys  and  girls  to  private  institutions  or  providing  instructors  in  their 
homes.  She  was  spending  more  than  twice  as  much  as  Indiana,  and 
nearly  as  much  as  Illinois,  in  proportion  to  white  population  for  her 
public  schools,  but  had  little  more  than  a  third  as  many  children  in  these 
schools.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were  a  considerably  larger  number 
enrolled  in  private  schools  than  in  the  public  schools.  The  smallness  of 
Mississippi's  total  number  of  children  enrolled  in  all  schools  is  due  in  part 
to  the  habit  wealthier  planters  had  of  employing  a  governess  for  the 
instruction  of  their  smaller  children  in  the  home  and  of  sending  their 
older  children  out  of  the  state  for  their  education.^  The  figures  given 
in  the  census  reports  are  doubtless  open  to  the  charge  of  inaccuracy,  but 
they  are  the  most  reliable  that  are  available,  and  probably  indicate  in  a 
general  way  the  real  situation. 

»  By  public  school  is  meant  any  unincorporated  school  wholly  or  partially  sup- 
ported by  public  funds. 

2  Rowland,  Encyclopedia  of  Mississippi  History,  I,  963. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SECONDARY  EDUCATION  FROM  1817  TO  1860.     THE 
MISSISSIPPI  ACADEMIES 

THE   INCORPORATION   AND   DISTRIBUTION   OF   ACADEMIES 

Legislation  relative  to  secondary  education  in  Mississippi  from 
1817  to  i860  dealt  chiefly  with  the  incorporation  of  private  academies 
and  similar  institutions  of  learning.  Six  of  the  academies  incorporated 
while  Mississippi  was  a  territory  were  within  the  limits  of  the  state. 
During  the  first  thirteen  years  of  statehood,  a  period  of  comparatively 
slow  growth  in  white  population,  twenty-one  additional  academies 
were  chartered,  if  we  include  Hancock  College,  an  institution  located 
in  Shieldsborough  and  sometimes  called  Shieldsborough  Academy.^ 
The  charter  of  Hancock  College  did  not  permit  the  granting  of  degrees 
or  diplomas,  and  the  institution  was  apparently  an  academy  except  in 
name.^ 

From  1 83 1  to  1840,  inclusive,  there  were  incorporated  sixty-one 
schools  of  secondary  rank.  This  decade  includes  a  period  of  unusual 
prosperity,  known  in  state  history  as  the  ''flush  times, "^  which  was, 
however,  brought  to  a  sudden  end  by  the  panic  of  1837.  All  but  four 
of  the  schools  receiving  charters  during  this  decade  were  called  academies. 
The  first  departure  from  the  name  academy  is  found  in  the  charter  of 
the  Vicksburg  Institute  of  Science  and  Literature"*  in  1831.  This  was 
followed  by  the  Judson  Institute  in  1836,5  the  Chulahoma  College  and 
Commercial  Institute  in  1839,^  and  the  Woodville  Classical  School,  also 
in  1839.'' 

When  the  panic  of  1837  broke  upon  the  state,  it  brought  most 
serious  economic  distress,  but  nevertheless  the  incorporation  of  academies 
went  on  unchecked  through  the  legislative  sessions  of  1839  and  1840. 
This  apparent  protraction  of  the  "flush  times"  for  the  academies  was 

^  Rowland,  Encyclopedia  of  Mississippi  History,  I,  19. 
*  Poindexter,  Revised  Code  of  Mississippi,  pp.  414-15. 

3  Baldwin,  The  Flush  Times  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi. 

4  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1831,  pp.  49-50. 

5  Ihid.,  1836,  pp.  382-84. 

6  Ibid.,  1839,  pp.  227-29.  7  Ihid.,  pp.  251-53. 

62 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1800  63 

probably  due  to  an  act  passed  in  1839  entitled,  "An  act  for  the  benefit 
of  education."^  Under  the  provisions  of  this  act  "all  fines,  penalties, 
forfeitures,  and  amercements"  assessed  by  any  court  in  the  state  were 
appropriated  to  the  support  of  academies.  In  twenty-two  counties  the 
beneficiaries  were  named  in  the  act.^  Usually  in  these  counties  one 
academy  was  chosen  in  each,  but  in  a  few  counties  the  funds  were  dis- 
tributed to  two  or  more  institutions.  The  act  provided  that  in  all 
other  counties^  than  the  twenty-two  named  the  moneys  arising  from 
the  sources  designated  should  go  to  such  academies  and  schools  as  the 
boards  of  police  of  the  respective  counties  should  select.  It  seems  very 
probable  that  the  support  provided  in  this  act  was  instrumental  in 
increasing  the  number  of  academies  incorporated  in  1839  and  1840.  In 
fact,  eight  of  the  academies  named  as  beneficiaries  of  the  act  were  incor- 
porated at  this  same  legislative  session  of  1839.^  Several  other  academies 
that  were  given  letters  of  incorporation  in  years  immediately  following 
contain  a  provision  in  their  charters  making  them  beneficiaries  of  the 
act  in  their  respective  counties.^    How  many  other  schools  may  have 

^  Ibid.,  pp.  38-40. 

2  The  twenty-two  counties  designated  in  the  act  and  the  beneficiaries  therein  were 
as  follows:  Attala,  Kosciusko  Female  Academy;  Claiborne,  Port  Gibson  Academy; 
Clarke,  Quitman  Male  and  Female  x\cademy;  Copiah,  Gallatin  Female  Academy; 
Covington,  Mt.  Carmel  Male  and  Female  Academy;  De  Soto,  Hernando  Male  and 
Female  Academy;  Hinds,  divided  equally  among  the  Raymond  Female  Academy 
and  the  academies  at  Clinton  and  Cayuga;  Holmes,  the  male  and  female  academy  at 
Lexington;  Jasper,  Paulding  Academy;  Jefferson,  Fayette  Academy;  Lafayette, 
di\'ided  equally  among  the  Oxford  Male  and  Female  academies  and  the  Wyatt  Male 
and  Female  academies;  Lauderdale,  Marion  Academy;  Lawrence,  ]\Ionticello 
Academy;  Marshall,  "to  the  university  and  female  academy";  Newton,  the  Male 
and  Female  Academy;  Noxubee,  Macon  Male  and  Female  Academy;  Oktibbeha, 
divided  equally  between  the  male  and  female  academies;  Pontotoc,  the  male  and 
female  academy  in  the  town  of  Pontotoc;  Rankin,  "  to  the  male  and  female  academies"; 
Tippah,  Ripley  and  Salem  academies;  Tishomingo,  Farmington  Academy;  Wilkinson, 
the  Woodville  Classical  School. 

3  These  counties  were  as  follows:  Adams,  Amite,  Bolivar,  Carroll,  Chickasaw, 
Choctaw,  Coahoma,  Franklin,  Greene,  Hancock,  Itawamba,  Jackson,  Jones,  Kemper, 
Leake,  Lowndes,  Madison,  Marion,  Monroe,  Neshoba,  Panola,  Perry,  Pike,  Scott, 
Simpson,  Smith,  Tallahatchie,  Tunica,  Warren,  Washington,  Wayne,  Winston, 
Yalobusha,  and  Yazoo.  The  legislature,  however,  designated  the  beneficiaries  of  the 
act  in  Choctaw  and  Marion  counties  in  1S40,  and  in  Smith  in  1S43.  For  references 
see  footnote  3  below. 

4  These  were  the  Female  Academy  of  Holly  Springs,  Farmington  Academy,  the 
Wyatt  academies,  "The  University"  at  Holly  Springs,  Woodville  Classical  School, 
and  Macon  Academy. 

sLaws  of  Mississippi,  1840,  pp.  157,  223;   1841,  p.  24S;   1843,  P-  94;   1S44,  p.  254. 


64  EDUCATION.\L  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

been  incorporated  with  the  expectation  of  becoming  beneficiaries  of  the 
act  through  their  county  boards  of  poHce  cannot  be  determined.^ 

During  the  decade  from  1841  to  1850  the  number  of  charters  granted 
to  secondary  schools  dropped  to  thirty-one.  Apparently  the  incentive 
furnished  by  the  act  of  1839  had  ceased  to  operate  in  the  estabhshment 
of  new  academies.  The  funds  arising  under  this  act  probably  had  all 
been  disposed  of  by  this  time  to  institutions  already  existing.  As  a 
consequence,  the  effect  of  the  "hard  times"  became  operative  during 
the  early  years  of  the  decade.  The  number  of  charters  for  the  biennial 
period  of  1841-42  was  only  four,  and  for  the  succeeding  biennial  period 
was  six. 

In  1846  the  revenue  appropriated  to  academies  by  the  act  of  1839 
"for  the  benefit  of  education"^  was  transferred  to  the  common  schools, 
but  prosperity  had  returned  to  the  state,  and  the  academies  appear  to 
have  suffered  no  ill  effects.  The  number  of  charters  granted  increased 
to  eight  in  1846,  and  would  probably  have  gone  higher  in  1848  and  1850 
had  not  the  legislature  delegated  the  power  to  incorporate  schools 
under  certain  conditions  to  the  county  probate  clerks.  This  act,  which 
was  approved  February  10,  1848,  provided  that  any  literary,  benevo- 
lent, or  Christian  society,  or  any  school  or  academy  of  learning  might 
receive  the  usual  corporate  powers  whenever  it  should  organize,  elect 
officers,  and  have  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  probate  clerk  of  its  county 
the  name  and  style  of  the  organization.^  Such  corporations  were  per- 
mitted to  hold  not  more  than  $25,000  worth  of  property,  real  and 
personal. 

After  the  passage  of  this  act  it  would  seem  that  the  legislature 
should  have  found  it  necessary  to  devote  its  time  only  to  charters  for 
those  schools  whose  ambitions  could  not  be  satisfied  with  a  property 
limit  of  $25,000  and  for  those  which  sought  some  special  privilege  not 
granted  in  the  general  act.  A  study  of  the  charters  of  the  next  few 
years  confirms  this  inference.  Most  of  the  charters  of  the  next  two  or 
three  legislative  sessions  following  the  passage  of  this  act  authorize  the 
holding  of  property  without  limit,  or  fix  the  limit  at  figures  ranging 

^  See  footnote  2,  p.  63. 

'  See  p.  63. 

3  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1848,  pp.  103-4.  The  Revised  Code  of  1857  modified  this 
act  so  that  such  charters  might  be  granted  by  the  governor  of  the  state,  upon  the 
advice  of  the  attorney-general,  instead  of  through  the  probate  clerks.  The  property 
limit  for  educational  institutions  was  raised  to  $50,000.  Revised  Code  of  1857, 
pp.  290-92. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1860  65 

from  $30,000  to  $100,000.  Where  charters  are  granted  with  a  property 
limit  of  $25,000  or  less,  there  can  be  found,  usually,  a  clause  granting 
some  special  privilege  not  provided  by  the  general  act  of  1848.  Most 
frequently  these  special  privileges  were  the  following:  exemption  from 
taxation;  the  right  to  use  the  sixteenth  section  fund  of  the  township 
or  to  participate  in  the  common  school  fund  of  the  county;  and  the 
prohibition  of  the  sale  of  vinous  and  spirituous  liquors  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  school. 

The  general  prosperity  of  the  state  during  the  decade  from  185 1  to 
i860  should  have  brought  about  a  large  increase  in  the  number  of 
secondary  schools.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the  legislature  granted 
charters  to  only  forty-eight,  and  the  governor  to  nine  others,^  making 
the  total  for  the  decade  fifty-seven.  How  many  other  small  academies 
may  have  received  the  rights  of  corporate  bodies  through  the  county 
probate  clerks  cannot  be  conjectured.-  It  is  probable  that  this  means 
of  securing  corporate  privileges  was  an  important  factor  in  keeping  the 
number  of  legislative  charters  in  bounds. 

After  1850  the  name  academy  is  no  longer  regularly  employed  for 
secondary  institutions,  its  place  having  been  taken  by  a  diversity  of 
names.  Of  the  fifty-seven  new  secondary  institutions  of  whose  incor- 
poration we  have  record  from  1851  to  i860,  there  were  22  academies, 
21  institutes,  9  seminaries,  4  high  schools,  and  i  designated  in  its  charter 
simply  as  ^'Wilson  Hall. "3 

What  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  about  the  number 
and  character  of  the  secondary  schools  incorporated  during  the  period 
of  this  study  is  summarized  in  Table  V.     The  total  number  of  charters 

^  The  academies  which  received  their  charters  from  the  governor  are  indicated 
by  a  star  in  the  list  of  academies  on  pp.  66-70.  It  will  be  observed  that  after  this 
power  was  transferred  from  the  probate  clerks  to  the  governor  exactly  half  of  the 
charters  granted  to  academies  were  secured  in  this  way. 

^  The  records  of  such  incorporations,  if  preserv^ed,  would  be  at  the  court-houses 
of  the  sixty  counties  of  that  day.  In  many  cases  court-houses  have  been  burned,  and 
it  is  probable  that  very  few,  if  any,  have  a  record  of  charters  granted  from  1848  to 
1857. 

3  Many  of  these  institutes  and  seminaries  were  girls'  boarding  schools,  which 
advertised  higher  curricula  than  the  ordinary  secondary  school  of  the  time,  and 
might  properly  be  considered  junior  colleges.  They  almost  invariably  had  the  power 
to  confer  diplomas  and  degrees,  but  this  power  during  the  fifties  was  occasionally 
given  to  secondary  schools,  not  only  in  Mississippi,  but  in  other  western  states.  See 
abstracts  of  charters  in  Appendix  A  and  compare  charters  of  Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows 
High  School  (1852),  Byhalia  Male  Academy  (1856),  and  Wilson  Hall  (i860). 


66 


EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 


granted  to  such  institutions  throughout  the  period  of  this  study,  exclud- 
ing those  which  were  clearly  designed  to  be  of  college  rank,  was  179. 
This  number  includes  only  those  which  received  letters  of  incorporation 
from  the  legislature  or  the  governor.     The  newspaper  files  of  the  period 

TABLE  V* 
Secondary  Schools  Incorporated  in  Mississippi  from  1807  to  i860 


Period 

1807-16 

1817-30 

1831-40 

1841-50 

1851-60 

Total 

Academies 

8 

21 

57 
3 

23 
3 

I 

I 

3 

22 

21 

9 

4 

I 

131 

27 
10 

Institutes  

Seminaries 

High  schools 

5 
6 

^Miscellaneous 

I 

I 

Total 

8 

22 

61 

31 

57 

179 

*  The  figures  do  not  show  the  full  number  of  secondary  schools  founded  in  Mississippi.  In  addition 
to  those  which  were  incorporated  by  county  probate  clerks  and  not  included  here  there  were  others  which 
were  never  incorporated. 


reveal  the  existence  of  many  other  academies  and  private  schools  doing 
secondary  work  which  were  never  recognized  by  legislative  enactment. 
The  complete  list  of  the  179  chartered  secondary  schools,  with  the 
county  in  which  each  was  located  and  the  date  of  its  incorporation 
follows: 

Mississippi  Secondary  Schools  from  1807  to  i860 

Franklin  Society,  Jefferson 1807 

Madison  Academy,  Claiborne 1809 

Washington  Academy,  Washington  (Alabama) 1811 

Greene  Academy,  Madison  (Alabama) 181 2 

Jackson  Academy,  Wilkinson 1814 

Amite  Academy,  Amite 1815 

Pinckneyville  Academy,  Wilkinson 181 5 

Wilkinson  Academy,  Wilkinson 181 5 

Hancock  College,  Hancock 1818 

Elizabeth  Female  Academy,  Adams 1819 

Beach  Hill  Academy,  Jefferson 1819 

Pearl  River  Academy,  Lawrence 1819 

Natchez  Academy,  Adams 1819 

Wilkinson  Female  Academy,  Wilkinson 1819 

Columbian  Academy,  Marion 1820 

Franklin  Academy,  Monroe  (now  in  Lowndes) 182 1 

Sligo  Academy,  Wilkinson 1821 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1860  67 

Centre  Academy,  Claiborne 1823 

Flower  Hill  Academy 1825 

Pinckneyville  Academy,  Wilkinson 1826 

Hampstead  Academy,  Hinds 1826 

Clinton  Academy,  Claiborne 1826 

Fayette  Academy,  Jefferson 1827 

Westville  Academy,  Simpson 1827 

Rutledge  Academy,  Copiah 1828 

Benton  Academy,  Yazoo 1829 

Pearl  River  Academy,  Rankin 1829 

Marion  Academy,  Wilkinson 1830 

Natchez  Academy,  Adams 1830 

Hampden  Academy,  Hinds 1830 

Vicksburg  Institute  of  Science  and  Literature,  Warren 1831 

Meridian  Springs  Academy,  Hinds 1831 

Yazoo  Academy,  Yazoo 1833 

Hickory  Springs  Academy,  Holmes 1833 

Brandon  Academy,  Wilkinson 1833 

Pearl  River  Academy,  Madison 1833 

Spring  Ridge  Academy,  Madison 1833 

Gallatin  Female  Academy,  Copiah 1833 

Richlands  Academy,  Carroll 1836 

Madisonville  Male  Academy,  Madison 1836 

Madisonville  Female  Academy,  Madison 1836 

Judson  Institute,  Hinds  (moved  to  Carroll  in  1840) 1836 

Paulding  Academy,  Jasper 1836 

Monticello  Academy,  Lawrence 1836 

Carrollton  Academy,  Carroll 1836 

Gallatin  Male  Academy,  Copiah 1836 

Washington  Irving  Academy,  Holmes 1836 

Franklin  Female  Academy,  Holmes 1836 

Canton  Female  Academy,  Madison 1836 

An  Academy,  Wilkinson 1836 

Marion  Academy,  Lauderdale 1837 

Lane  Academy,  Warren 1837 

Lewisville  Academy,  Winston 1837 

Hernando  Academy,  De  Soto 1837 

Greensboro  Male  and  Female  academies  (2),  Choctaw^ 1837 

Sharon  Female  Academy,  Madison 1837 

Pinckney  Academy,  Newton 1837 

Mount  Carmel  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Covington 1S37 

'  Two  academies  incorporated  in  one  act  and  with  the  same  board  of  trustees. 
Reincorporated  and  made  beneficiaries  of  act  of  1839  for  the  benefit  of  education  in 
1840.     Laws  of  Mississippi,  1840,  pp.  157-59. 


68  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Colbert  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Lowndes 1838 

Pontotoc  Female  Academy,  Pontotoc 1838 

Oxford  Male  Academy,  Lafayette 1838 

Oxford  Female  Academy,  Lafayette 1838 

Tuscahoma  Academy,  Tallahatchie 1838 

Coffeeville  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Yalobusha 1839 

Cayuga,  Hinds  (act  for  benefit;  not  incorporated) 1839 

Holly  Springs  Female  Academy,  Marshall 1839 

Chulahoma  Female  Academy,  Marshall 1839 

Farmington  Academy,  Tishomingo 1839 

Wyatt  Male  Academy,  Lafayette 1839 

Wyatt  Female  Academy,  Lafayette 1839 

Wahalak  Female  Academy,  Kemper 1839 

Oak  Hill  Academy,  Copiah 1839 

Chulahoma  College  and  Commercial  Institute,  Marshall 1839 

DeKalb  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Kemper 1839 

Woodville  Classical  School,  Wilkinson 1839 

Macon  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Noxubee 1839 

Mount  Pleasant  Academy,  Male  and  Female,  Noxubee 1839 

Shugualak  Academy,  Male  and  Female,  Noxubee 1839 

Plymouth  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Lowndes 1839 

Emery  Academy,  Holmes 1839 

Grenada  Male  and  Female  academies,  Yalobusha 1839 

Gallatin  Academy,  Copiah 1840 

Vicksburg  Female  Academy,  Warren 1840 

Almucha  Academy,  Lauderdale 1840 

Thickwoods  Academy,  Amite 1840 

Woodville  Female  Academy,  Wilkinson 1840 

Constantine  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Noxubee 1840 

Rienzi  Academy,  Tishomingo 1840 

Columbia  Academy,  Marion 1840 

Williamsburg  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Covington 1841 

Oakland  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Yalobusha 1841 

Wahalak  Male  Academy,  Kemper 1841 

Commerce  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Tunica 1841 

Marion  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Lauderdale 1842 

Aberdeen  Male  Academy,  Monroe 1843 

Raleigh  Academy,  Smith 1843 

Friendship  Male  Academy,  Panola 1844 

Decatur  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Newton 1844 

Houston  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Chickasaw 1844 

Lexington  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Holmes 1844 

St.  Thomas'  Hall,  Marshall 1846 

Jackson  Male  Academy,  Hinds 1846 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1860  69 

Jackson  Female  Academy,  Hinds 1846 

Zion  Seminary,  Covington 1846 

Pontotoc  Male  Academy,  Pontotoc 1846 

Aberdeen  Female  Academy,  Monroe 1846 

Black  Hawk  Male  Academy,  Carroll 1846 

Black  Hawk  Female  Academy,  Carroll 1846 

Macon  Female  Institute,  Noxubee 1848 

Canton  Male  Academy,  Madison 1848 

Raymond  Female  Institute,  Hinds 1848 

Columbus  Female  Institute,  Lowndes 1848 

Enterprise  Academy,  Clarke 1848 

Pleasant  Hill  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Jasper 1848 

Pearl  River  Female  Academy,  Madison 1850 

Polkville  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Smith 1850 

Almucha  Academy,  Lauderdale 1850 

Kemper  College,  Kemper 1850 

Salem  High  School,  Greene 1850 

Yazoo  Classical  Hall,  Yazoo 1850 

Euclid  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Tishomingo 1850 

Choctaw  Collegiate  Institute,  Noxubee 1852 

Maple  Spring  Male  Academy,  Tippah 1852 

Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows  High  School,  Choctaw 1852 

Bascom  Female  Seminary,  Yalobusha 1852 

Pleasant  Ridge  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Tippah 1852 

Middleton  Female  Seminary,  Carroll 1852 

Greenwood  Female  Institute,  Jasper 1852 

Southern  Scientific  Institute,  Claiborne 1852 

Simpson  Male  and  Female  Seminary,  Simpson 1852 

Collegiate  High  School  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Lowndes 1852 

Newton  Institute,  Wilkinson 1852 

Cold  Water  Baptist  Female  Seminary,  Marshall 1852 

Yalobusha  Baptist  Female  Institute,  Yalobusha 1852 

Enon  High  School,  Perry 1852 

Canton  Female  Institute,  Madison 1852 


Presbyterian  Female  Collegiate  Institute,  Pontotoc 1852 

Crawfordsville  Male  Institute,  Lowndes 1852 

Crawfordsville  Female  Institute,  Lowndes 1852 

Cofifeeville  Female  Institute,  Yalobusha 1855 

Hill  City  Collegiate  Institute,  Warren 1854 

Central  Female  Institute,  Hinds 1854 

Byhalia  Female  Institute,  Marshall 1854 

Red  Banks  Female  Seminary,  Marshall 1854 

Friendship  Academy,  Panola 1854 

Octograde  Seminary,  Yalobusha 1854 


70  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Good  Hope  Academy,  Leake 

Port  Gibson  Collegiate  Academy,  Claiborne 

Union  Seminary,  De  Soto 

Monroe  Female  Institute,  Monroe 

Westminster  Academy,  Tippah 

Calhoun  Institute,  Madison 

Oak  Bowery  Academy 

East  Port  Female  Institute,  Tishomingo 

ByhaKa  Male  Academy,  Marshall 

Amite  Female  Seminary,  Amite 

Okolona  Female  Institute,  Chickasaw 

Okolona  Male  Academy,  Chickasaw 

Canaan  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Tippah 

Fayette  Female  Academy,  Jefferson 

Summerville  Institute  and  Female  Seminary,  Noxubee  (act  for  benefit; 

not  incorporated) 

*Spring  Ridge  Female  Seminary,  Hinds 

*Central  Academy,  Madison 

*Hillsboro  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Scott 

*Iuka  Female  Institute,  Tishomingo 

*Westville  Seminary,  Simpson 

*Rose  Hill  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Jasper 

Vernal  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Greene 

Wilson  HaU,  MarshaU 

Aberdeen  Masonic  Male  High  School,  Monroe 

Amite  County  Female  Academy,  Amite 

Willard  Male  Academy,  De  Soto 

Willard  Female  Academy,  De  Soto 

Masonic  Female  Seminary,  Marshall 

Brandon  State  Military  Institute,  Rankin^ 

*Bethany  Male  and  Female  Institute,  Amite 

*Hazlehurst  Male  and  Female  Institute,  Copiah 

*Richland  Male  and  Female  Academy,  Rankin 


858 
859 
859 
859 
859 
859 
860 
860 
860 
860 
860 
860 
860 
860 
860 
860 
860 

*  Institutions  whose  names  are  preceded  by  a  star  received  their  charters  from  the  governor,  under 
chap.  XXXV,  sec.  i,  of  the  Revised  Code  of  1857,  pp.  290-91. 

The  attention  of  the  reader  has  been  called  in  chapter  i  to  the  fact 
that  the  real  history  of  Mississippi  from  1798  to  1840  is  the  story  of  the 
development  successively  of  new  lands  acquired  from  the  Indian  tribes.^ 
In  a  sense  this  process  continued  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War, 
for  the  last  decade  was  a  continuation  of  the  development  of  the  Chicka- 
saw cession.  It  is  interesting  to  note  how  the  incorporation  and  distri- 
bution of  the  academies  of  the  state  followed  the  historical  development 

^  See  pp.  99-100  for  discussion  of  this  school.  ^  See  chap,  i,  p.  4. 


854 
854 
854 
854 
854 
856 
856 
856 
856 
856 
856 
856 
856 
857 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION,  1817-lSGO 


71 


of  the  different  sections.  In  Table  VI  the  historical  sections  of  the 
state  are  listed  in  the  order  in  which  they  became  a  part  of  the  territory 
or  state,  and  the  number  of  academies  incorporated  in  each  section  is 
shown  for  each  decade.  For  the  sake  of  convenience  the  first  period 
after  the  admission  of  the  state  to  the  Union  is  made  to  cover  thirteen 
years  instead  of  ten. 

It  will  be  observed  that  twenty-four  of  the  thirty-two  charters 
granted  in  the  Natchez  district  were  given  before  the  close  of  1840. 
The  Choctaw  purchase  of  1805,  which  developed  very  slowly  until  the 
latter  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  incorporated  only  ten  academies, 
distributed  over  a  period  of  forty  years.  The  coast  counties,  the 
Florida  annexation,  where  the  French  established  their  first  south- 
western colony  in  1699,  had  prior  to  i860  only  one  chartered  school. 

TABLE  VI 

Distribution  of  Secondary  Schools  by  Historical  Sections 


Section 

1807-16 

1817-30 

1831-40 

1841-50 

1851-60 

Total 

Matrhp^  FJiQtrirf 

6 

11 
2 

I 
I 
6 

7 
3 

8 
2 

32 

Choctaw  Cession   i8os 

3 

10 

I 

I 
24 
16 
11 

4 

6 

13 

5 

3 
10 
15 
IQ 

I 

Q 

46 

44 

35 

I 

2 

On  the  other  hand  we  may  read  from  the  figures  of  the  table  the  story 
of  the  rapid  development  between  1830  and  1840  of  the  central  counties 
of  the  state,  which  were  carved  out  of  the  second  Choctaw  cession. 
The  story  of  the  thirty  years  of  steady  growth  of  the  counties  of  north 
and  east  Mississippi  is  indicated  in  the  figures  given  for  the  third  Choctaw 
cession  and  the  Chickasaw  cession.^ 

ANALYSIS  OF  SECONDARY -SCHOOL  CHARTERS 

The  usual  type  of  secondary  institution  to  which  charters  were 
granted  was  the  academy  governed  by  a  self-perpetuating  board  of 
trustees.  There  were,  however,  during  the  latter  half  of  the  period 
covered  in  this  study  a  number  of  academies  supported  by  stock  com- 
panies, which  elected  annually  a  board  of  trustees  to  govern  their 
schools.  In  a  few  instances  after  1850  there  were  academies  whose 
charters  provided  that  the  trustees  should  be  elected  by  the  patrons  of 
the  school,'  or  the  qualified  electors  of  the  township  or  the  village  in 
'  The  territorial  area  of  these  different  sections  is  shown  on  the  map  in  chap,  i,  p.  5  • 
2  For  instance  Westminster  Academy,  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1854,  pp.  429-30- 


72  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

which  the  school  was  located.^  These  latter  schools  received  support 
from  pubHc  funds  of  one  kind  or  another.  There  were  also  a  few  second- 
ary schools  supported  by  religious  denominations,  w^hose  trustees  were 
elected  at  stated  intervals  by  representative  bodies  of  the  supporting 
denominations.  A  few  schools,  also,  were  incorporated  after  1850  by 
fraternal  societies — the  Masons  and  the  Odd  Fellows — which  governed 
the  school  through  boards  of  their  own  selection.  The  self -perpetuating 
board,  however,  was  the  prevailing  plan  of  organization  for  secondary 
schools  throughout  the  entire  period  that  is  under  investigation. 

The  powers  given  to  the  boards  of  trustees  almost  universally  were 
(i)  to  receive  and  hold  real  and  personal  property  for  the  use  of  the 
institutions;  (2)  to  sue  and  be  sued;  (3)  to  make  regulations  for  their 
own  government  and  the  government  of  the  school;  and  (4)  to  employ 
the  president  or  principal  and  other  necessary  teachers.  In  some 
instances  the  trustees  might  dismiss  teachers  at  pleasure,  and,  less 
often,  for  malconduct  and  inefficiency.  The  earlier  charters  provided 
that  trustees  might  receive  donations  and  legacies,  but  this  clause  was 
usually  omitted  from  later  charters.  In  a  few  instances  trustees  were 
"to  ordain  the  course  of  study,"  but  as  a  rule  the  charters  contained 
no  reference  to  the  curriculum.  Occasionally  a  charter  may  be  found 
which  required  the  trustees  to  examine  the  qualifications  of  the  teachers. 
Very  commonly  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the  trustees  to  visit  the  schools 
at  stated  intervals  and  to  examine  the  proficiency  of  the  students.  In 
some  cases  they  were  authorized  to  delegate  this  duty  to  "visitors," 
whom  they  should  appoint  for  the  purpose.  After  1850  it  is  not  unusual 
to  find  charters  in  which  the  trustees  were  authorized  to  grant  diplomas, 
and  sometimes  to  confer  degrees,  but  these  powers  were  usually  confined 
to  female  "institutes"  and  "seminaries."  There  are  a  few  instances, 
however,  of  academies  being  authorized  to  confer  degrees.^ 

As  a  general  rule  the  charters  make  no  provision  for  the  support  of 
the  institutions  they  incorporate.  The  exceptions  to  this  rule  will  be 
discussed  in  chapter  xi.  In  the  absence  of  other  means  of  support  it  is 
evident  that  tuition  fees  must  have  been  the  main  dependence,  but 
only  a  few  charters  specifically  authorize  the  trustees  to  fix  rates. 
That  this  power  was  imphed  and  usually  exercised  is  indicated  in  num- 
bers of  advertisements  of  academies  found  in  the  newspaper  files  of  the 
period. 3    The  charters  of  a  considerable  number  of  schools  indicate 

'  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1854,  p.  394. 

^  See  footnote  3,  p.  65. 

3  See  advertisements  in  The  Mississippian,  September  4,  1825. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1860  73 

that  they  were  supported  on  the  subscription  plan,  and  the  powers  and 
liabihties  of  the  subscribers  to  such  institutions  are  carefully  prescribed.^ 

Aside  from  the  provisions  contained  in  the  charters  mentioned  thus 
far  there  were  numerous  other  miscellaneous  provisions  that  appear  in 
a  few  charters.  Some  of  these  are  given  below,  being  paraphrased  in 
most  cases  for  the  sake  of  brevity: 

The  governor  of  the  state  shall  fill  vacancies  on  the  board  of  trustees. 

The  charter  may  be  amended  or  rescinded  at  the  will  of  the  legis- 
lature. 

Trustees  shall  provide  equal  rights  and  privileges  for  students  of  all 
religious  denominations. 

There  shall  be  at  least  one  teacher  to  each  twenty-five  pupils. 

Trustees  shall  employ  the  principal  only,  who  shall  select  his  own 
assistants. 

The  faculty  shall  make  regulations  for  the  government  of  the 
institution. 

Trustees  may  determine  the  mode  of  electing  their  own  successors. 

Trustees  may  select  a  site  and  erect  the  necessary  buildings. 

Trustees  shall  establish  'Herms,  vacations,  and  tuition  fees." 

Trustees  may  collect  all  debts  and  dues. 

Trustees  shall  fix  salaries  (in  three  charters). 

Trustees  shall  pay  salaries  (in  two  charters) . 

Trustees  shall  lease  annually  the  sixteenth  section  on  which  the 
academy  is  located. 

Trustees  may  control  the  funds  arising  from  the  sixteenth  section 
of  the  township  for  the  use  of  the  academy. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  most  of  the  academies  incorporated 
after  1830  bore  the  name  of  villages  and  towns  rather  than  the  names 
of  counties  or  national  heroes,  as  had  been  the  earlier  custom.  For 
instance,  in  the  year  1836  the  following  academies  were  incorporated, 
each  bearing  the  name  of  the  village  in  which  it  was  located:  Richland, 
Paulding,  Monticello,  CarroUton,  Lewisville,  Hernando,  Greensboro, 
Gallatin  Male,  Franklin  Female,  Canton  Female,  Pinckney,  and  Mount 
Carmel.  In  the  same  year  Pearl  River  Academy  at  Brandon  had  its 
name  changed  to  Brandon  Academy,  and  Hampden  Academy  at  Ray- 
mond became  Raymond  Academy.  It  appears  that  the  villages  and 
towns  which  sprang  up  or  awoke  to  new  life  during  the  ''flush  times" 
were  establishing  these  schools  primarily  for  the  village  children.  Some 
of  the  academies  of  the  ''thirties"  and  even  later,  however,  were  essen- 
tially boarding  schools,  and  some  of  them  during  the  next  decade  were 

^  See  abstracts  of  charters  in  Appendix  A. 


74  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

county  institutions,  to  the  extent  of  receiving  aid  from  the  county 
treasuries  upon  the  appropriation  of  the  state.^ 

INFLUENCE   OF   RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS 

The  influence  of  rehgious  denominations  in  the  incorporation  of 
secondary  schools  was  remarkably  slight.  There  are  only  twelve 
charters  which  provide  for  any  control  of  the  institution  by  a  reUgious 
body,  and  in  two  of  these  the  authority  of  the  church  is  limited  to  the 
appointment  of  visitors.^  There  are  three  other  early  charters  that 
incorporate  jointly  an  ''academy  and  meeting-house,"  but  no  clearly 
defined  authority  of  the  church  over  the  academy  is  revealed  in  these 
charters.3  Probably  the  only  relation  was  that  the  boards  of  trustees 
(which  were  self-perpetuating)  were  made  up  of  members  of  the  asso- 
ciated churches.  Of  the  twelve  institutions  which  were  clearly  under 
denominational  control  six  were  Baptist,  three  Methodist,  two  Pres- 
byterian, and  one  Episcopal.  There  were  also  a  few  other  institu- 
tions, which  were  under  private  control,  but  were  closely  affiliated  with 
religious  denominations  through  the  denominational  relations  of  their 
owners,  trustees,  and  faculties.  Their  charters,  however,  contained  no 
reference  to  any  religious  authority,  and  their  boards  of  trustees  were 
usually  self-perpetuating. 

The  paucity  of  denominational  secondary  schools  was  not  due  to 
any  lack  of  religious  or  sectarian  interest.  There  is  abundant  evidence 
that  the  people  of  the  state  were  rather  strong  sectarians.  But  in 
school  matters  they  apparently  wished  to  lay  aside  their  religious 
differences  and  work  in  harmony  for  the  education  of  their  youth.  A 
number  of  charters  contain  the  injunction  that  the  trustees  "shall  take 
effectual  care  that  students  of  all  denominations  be  admitted  to  equal 
advantages,"  and  "receive  a  like  fair  and  generous  treatment."'' 

SECONDARY   SCHOOLS   FOR   GIRLS 

From  the  early  territorial  days,  the  education  of  girls  was  a  matter 
of  keen  interest  to  the  people  of  Mississippi.  The  first  school  of  which 
we  have  any  record  was  a  private  school  for  girls  established  by  Rev. 
David  Ker  at  Natchez  in  iSoi.s    The  charters  given  to  the  academies 

'  Under  act  of  1839.     See  pp.  62-63. 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1856,  pp.  317-18;    1857,  pp.  88-00. 

3  Beach  Hill  Academy  and  Methodist  Meeting  House,  1819;  Centre  Academy 
and  Meeting  House,  1823;   Almucha  Academy  and  Free  Church,  1840. 

4  See  summaries  of  charters  of  early  academies  in  Appendix  A. 
s  Rowland,  op.  clt.,  p.  19. 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1800  75 

during  the  territorial  period  contain  no  reference  to  sex.  It  must  be 
inferred  that  none  were  exclusively  for  females,  but  some  may  have 
been  coeducational.  The  first  chartered  girls'  school  in  the  state  was 
Elizabeth  Female  Academy,  which  was  established  at  Natchez  as 
property  of  the  Mississippi  Methodist  Conference  in  1818  and  was 
given  a  charter  in  1819.^  The  charter  permitted  the  ownership  of 
property  to  the  amount  of  $100,000,  which  was  much  higher  than  the 
usual  property  limit  for  academies  at  that  time.^  Wilkinson  Female 
Academy,  which  was  incorporated  at  the  same  meeting  of  the  general 
assembly,  was  restricted  to  the  possession  of  not  more  than  $10,000 
worth  of  real  estate  and  $30,000  of  personal  property.^ 

A  period  of  fourteen  years  elapsed  after  the  incorporation  of  these 
two  academies  before  a  charter  was  given  to  another  school  designed 
specifically  for  girls.  Nothing  in  the  charters  granted  during  these 
fourteen  years  indicates  whether  the  academies  incorporated  were  for 
males  only  or  for  both  sexes.  From  other  sources  we  have  evidence 
that  there  were  some  of  each  kind.  Pearl  River  Academy  at  Brandon, 
for  instance,  which  was  incorporated  in  1829,  was  advertising  four 
years  before  it  secured  its  charter  that  it  had  a  female  department  in 
a  separate  building.^  Port  Gibson  Academy,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
chartered  in  1836,  but  did  not  establish  a  female  department  until 
thirty  years  later.^ 

In  1833  the  Gallatin  Female  Academy  was  added  to  the  list  of 
incorporated  female  schools,^  and  in  1836  charters  were  granted  to 
three  others.^  About  this  time  the  custom  of  designating  the  coeduca- 
tional schools  as  ''male  and  female  academies"  began,  and  a  large 
number  of  charters  were  granted  to  such  institutions  during  the  two 
decades  following.  These  "male  and  female"  academies  usually  bore 
the  name  of  the  town  in  which  they  were  located,  indicating  the  tendency 

1  MS  Laws  of  Mississippi,  Mississippi  State  Archives,  Series  I,  No.  2. 

2  This  academy  has  been  called  a  "college  except  in  name,"  and  "the  mother  of 
female  colleges  in  the  United  States."  See  Blandin,  History  of  Higher  Education  of 
Women  in  the  South  Prior  to  i860,  pp.  43-48,  and  Galloway,  "Elizabeth  Female 
Academy— The  Mother  of  Female  Colleges,"  Publications  of  the  Mississippi  Historical 
Society,  II,  169-78. 

3  MS  Laws  of  Mississippi,  Mississippi  State  Archives,  Series  I,  No.  2. 

4  The  Mississippian,  Jackson,  September  4,  1825. 
s  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1858,  p.  121. 

^  Ibid.,  1833,  Mississippi  State  Archives,  Series  I,  No.  19. 
Tibid.,  1836,  pp.  380,  393,  396. 


7^ 


EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 


of  these  towns  to  establish  each  for  itself  a  local  academy  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  children  of  both  sexes.  Many  communities,  however,  pre- 
ferred separate  institutions  for  the  sexes.  Often  in  a  single  legislative 
act  a  male  academy  and  a  female  academy  were  incorporated  for  the 
same  town,  sometimes  both  under  the  control  of  the  same  board  of 
trustees. 

During  the  decade  from  1850  to  i860  many  letters  of  incorporation 
were  granted  to  boarding  schools  for  girls,  both  of  secondary  and  higher 
rank.  It  is  often  difficult  to  determine  whether  a  given  school  should 
be  classed  as  of  secondary  or  college  grade.  Many  of  them  bore  the 
name  "female  institute"  or  "female  seminary."  They  were  usually 
given  the  power  to  grant  diplomas  and  degrees.     Practically  all  of  them 

TABLE  VII 
Educational  Institutions  Chartered  from  1850  to  i860 


Rank 

Male 

Female 

Co-educational 

or 
Undetermined 

Total 

Colleges                             

3 

13 
6 

13 

I 

5 

4 
3 

5 

20 

9 

Institutes 



3 

21 

I 

Academies  and  high  schools* 

7 

19 

31 

Total          

13 

38 

31 

82 

*  A  few  miscellaneous  names  are  included  with  the  academies  and  high  schools. 

gave  a  secondary  course,  and  a  great  many  gave  little  more.  The  large 
proportion  of  "female  schools"  incorporated  from  1850  to  i860  is 
shown  in  Table  VII. 

CURRICULA   OP   THE   ACADEMIES 

There  is  nothing  in  the  charters  granted  to  Mississippi  academies  to 
indicate  clearly  the  curricula  of  these  schools.  A  few  charters  authorize 
the  boards  of  trustees  to  "ordain  the  course  of  study,"  but  this  function 
is  usually  left  by  implication  to  the  faculties,  with  no  suggestion  from 
the  state  as  to  what  the  curriculum  should  contain.^    The  distinction 

^  The  newspaper  files  of  the  period  give  much  more  information  as  to  the  curricula 
of  the  academies  than  the  statutes.  From  the  Mississippi  Messenger  of  August  19, 
1806,  we  learn  that  the  curriculum  of  the  first  academy  incorporated  in  Mississippi 
included  English  grammar,  bookkeeping,  geography,  mathematics,  Latin,  and  Greek. 
An  advertisement  of  the  Pearl  River  Academy  of  Rankin  County  in  The  Mississippian 
of  September  4,  1825,  indicates  little  change  in  secondar>^  curriculum  during  the 
nineteen  years.  In  its  elementary  department  there  was  taught  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic;    and  in  the  secondary  department,  English  grammar,  geography,  logic, 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION,  1817-1860  77 

drawn  in  182 1  as  to  requirements  for  license  to  teach  in  the  common 
schools  and  in  the  academies  indicates  the  chief  difference  in  the  minds 
of  the  legislators  of  that  time  between  the  academy  and  the  common 
school.  In  addition  to  the  common  school  subjects,  teachers  in  acade- 
mies were  required  to  be  qualified  to  teach  Latin  and  Greek. ^ 

STATUS   OF   SECONDARY   EDUCATION   IN    1850 

Perhaps  the  most  satisfactory  method  of  forming  an  adequate  con- 
ception of  the  status  of  secondary  education  in  Mississippi  during  the 
closing  years  of  the  period  covered  in  this  study  is  to  compare  the  situa- 
tion in  this  state  with  that  in  other  states.  For  this  comparison  the 
states  of  Illinois  and  Indiana  have  been  chosen  for  the  reasons  set 
forth  in  the  preceding  chapter,  and  the  statistics  are  presented  con- 
cisely in  Table  VIII.  The  figures  are  for  the  year  1850,  which  was 
selected  in  preference  to  i860  because  it  is  generally  accepted  as  mark- 
ing the  high  tide  of  the  academy  movement  in  the  nation  and  because 
conditions  were  more  normal  than  on  the  eve  of  the  Civil  War.  This 
early  selection  makes  it  necessary  to  leave  out  of  consideration,  on  the 
one  hand,  the  high  schools  organized  in  the  two  northern  states  during 
the  decade  following  1850,  and  on  the  other  hand,  the  large  number  of 
private   institutions   incorporated  after   that   date   in   Mississippi,   as 


natural  philosophy,  and  "Languages."  Ten  years  later  the  Pontotoc  Academy 
advertised  in  the  same  paper  (September  18,  1935)  the  following  course  of  study, 
naming  the  textbooks  used  in  each  of  its  three  departments: 

First  class:  Murray's  Spelling  Book,  Introduction,  English  Reader,  and  Small 
Grammar;  Pike's  Arithmetic. 

Second  class:  Murray's  Large  Grammar;  Goodrich's  Geography;  Grimshaw's 
History  of  the  United  States,  England,  France,  Rome,  and  Greece;  Kirkman's  Elocution; 
Clanes'  Philosophy  and  Chemistry. 

Third  class:  Historia  Sacrae;  Aesop's  Latin  Fables;  Caesar,  Sallust,  Ovid,  Vergil, 
Horace,  Hervine,  Cicero,  Juvenal,  Perseus;  Blair's  Lectures;  Parley's  Philosophy; 
Hutton's  Mathematicks;  West  Point  System  of  Surveying;  Vince's  Conic  Sections; 
Carvallo's  Philosophy;  Greek  Grammar,  New  Testament,  Greece  Minora,  Greece  Majora, 
Homer;  French. 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  with  this  extended  curriculum  the  simple  entrance 
requirements  of  Jefferson  College  as  advertised  in  the  Natchez  Weekly  Courier  and 
Journal  of  January  i,  1837.  The  advertisement  states  that  entering  students  "must 
have  read  Vergil  and  Sallust  and  be  acquainted  with  geography  and  arithmetic  to 
the  Rule  of  Three."  Apparently  some  knowledge  of  Greek  was  also  presumed,  for 
the  same  advertisement  states  that  freshmen  were  required  to  "review"  Greek  and 
Latin  grammar  during  the  first  semester. 

^  See  chapter  on  administration  and  supervision,  p.  113. 


78 


EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 


shown  in  Table  VII.  The  figures  of  Table  VIII,  except  those  in  the 
last  column  are  from  the  United  States  census  report.  The  last  column 
contains  estimates  made  by  Henry  Barnard  by  adding  to  the  census 
figures  the  statistics  for  schools  which  failed  to  make  returns  to  the 
census  bureau.^ 

The  table  indicates  that  Mississippi,  with  about  one-third  the  white 
population  of  either  of  the  two  northwestern  states,  was  supporting  a 
larger  number  of  secondary  schools,  had  a  larger  number  of  students 
attending  such  schools,  employed  more  teachers,  and  was  expending 
more  money  upon  her  secondary  schools  than  either  of  the  other  two 
states.  Indeed,  if  Barnard's  estimates  can  be  trusted,  Mississippi  was 
expending  on  her  academies  twice  as  much  as  Indiana  and  almost 
three  times  as  much  as  Illinois. 

TABLE  VIII 

Status  of  Secondary  Schools  in  Three  States  in  1850 


States 

White 
Population 

Schools 

Teachers 

Pupils 

Income 
(Returns) 

Income 
(Estimated) 

846,034 
977,718 
295,718 

83 
131 
171 

160 
233 
297 

4,244 
6,185 
6,628 

$40,488 
63,520 
73,717 

$  47,678 

Indiana              

73,219 

144,732 

The  flourishing  condition  of  Mississippi's  secondary  schools  was 
due  in  part  to  the  industrial  and  economic  conditions.  The  isolation  of 
large  plantations  with  their  throngs  of  slaves  made  it  difficult  to  locate 
common  schools  so  that  they  could  be  attended  conveniently  by  the 
children  from  these  large  estates.  The  state  as  a  whole  was  in  excellent 
financial  condition  during  almost  all  of  the  sixty  years  covered  by  this 
study.  The  towns  which  grew  up  in  the  thirties  and  forties  were  well 
able  to  maintain  their  own  academies.  The  masters  of  the  plantations 
were  men  of  wealth  and  could  well  afford  to  pay  the  small  tuition  and 
moderate  price  for  board  necessary  to  keep  their  children  in  those 
academies  which  were  essentially  boarding  schools.  In  many  cases 
these  plantation  owners  had  come  to  Mississippi  during  the  ''flush 
times"  from  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  Tennessee,  and  had 
brought  with  them  the  aristocratic  prejudices  of  the  earlier  southern 
states.  In  their  minds  the  common  schools  were  for  the  children  of 
the  poor  and  of  the  artisans,  mechanics,  professional  and  business  men 
of  the  villages,  but  for  their  own  children  they  desired  the  more  exclu- 
sive atmosphere  of  the  private  institution. 

^  Barnard,  The  American  Journal  of  Education,  I  (1856),  368. 


CHAPTER  VII 

HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI  FROM  1817  TO  1860 

THE   SEMINARY   LANDS 

On  February  20,  1819,  an  act  of  Congress  became  effective  which 
provided  that  in  addition  to  the  township  of  land  granted  for  the  sup- 
port of  Jefferson  College  there  should  be  granted  in  the  state  of  Missis- 
sippi another  township,  or  a  quantity  of  land  equal  thereto,  for  "the 
support  of  a  seminary  of  learning."  The  lands  were  to  be  located  by 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States  in  tracts  of  not  less 
than  four  entire  sections  each,  and  were  to  be  vested  *'in  the  legisla- 
ture of  the  said  state,  in  trust.'"  In  182 1  the  general  assembly  of  the 
state  passed  an  act  requiring  the  governor  to  obtain  information  as  to 
"the  most  suitable  township  in  the  recent  Choctaw  cession,"  to  locate 
the  whole  or  a  part  of  the  thirty-six  sections,  and  authorizing  him  to 
appoint  persons  to  explore  the  territory  for  this  purpose.^  Lands 
satisfactory  to  the  state  and  national  governments  were  finally  selected 
in  1823.3 

In  1825  the  state  adopted  the  policy  of  leasing  the  seminary  lands 
for  short  periods.  The  state  auditor  was  authorized  and  required  to 
lease  the  unimproved  lands  for  a  term  of  four  years,  with  the  proviso 
that  the  lessee  should  preserve  the  timber  from  waste  and  should  clear 
twenty  acres  to  each  quarter  section  leased,  fence  it,  and  build  a  cabin 
thereon.''  In  1827  the  auditor  was  authorized  to  renew  the  leases 
when  they  expired  and  to  bring  suit  against  lessees  who  had  not  paid 
their  rents. ^  This  act  also  required  that  notice  of  the  leasing  of  the 
lands  should  be  published,  and  that  the  lands  should  be  let  to  the  highest 
bidder.  A  supplementary  act  was  passed  in  1830  under  which  the 
auditor  was  authorized  to  lease  improved  seminary  lands,  as  the  leases 
expired,  to  the  highest  bidders,  and  to  continue  to  let  unimproved 
lands  under  the  terms  provided  in  the  act  of  1825.^     The  rents  from 

'  United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  III,  485. 
'Laws  of  Mississippi,  1821,  pp.  128-29. 
3  Rowland,  Encyclopedia  of  Mississippi  History,  II,  638. 
<Laws  of  Mississippi,  1825,  pp.  13-14- 
sibid.,  1827,  pp.  18-20.  ^  Ibid.,  1824-38,  pp.  331-32. 

79 


8o  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

all  leases  were  to  be  turned  into  the  state  treasury  as  soon  as  they  were 
collected. 

The  legislature  abandoned  the  practice  of  leasing  the  seminary 
lands  in  1833  and  ordered  the  thirty-six  sections  sold.  The  act,  which 
was  approved  March  2,  1833,  required  the  governor  to  appoint  three 
commissioners  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  lands.  After  the  commis- 
sioners had  appraised  the  lands  the  auditor  was  required  to  advertise 
them  for  sale  to  the  highest  bidder,  in  tracts  of  not  less  than  quarter 
sections,  but  was  forbidden  to  accept  any  bid  less  than  three-fourths  of 
the  value  fixed  by  the  commissioners.  The  terms  of  the  sale  permitted 
three  years'  credit,  for  which  notes  were  taken,  with  approved  security. 
The  proceeds  of  the  notes,  as  fast  as  they  should  be  collected,  were 
ordered  invested  in  stock  of  the  Planters'  Bank.^  In  accordance  with 
the  provisions  of  this  act  all  but  one  half-section  of  the  seminary  lands 
were  sold  during  the  year  1833  in  exchange  for  notes  to  the  total  amount 
of  $277,322.2 

In  1835  Governor  Lynch  reported  that  all  the  notes  were  due,  and 
that  with  the  accrued  interest  amounted  to  $310,000.  Four  years  later 
many  of  them  were  still  unpaid.  Governor  McNutt  said  that  they 
were  generally  well  secured,  but  many  were  under  protest.^ 

THE   SEMINARY   FUND 

The  Seminary  Fund  was  legally  created  by  an  act  of  the  legislature 
which  was  approved  on  July  26,  1843.  The  fund  was  made  to  con.sist 
of  all  moneys  that  had  accrued  or  might  accrue  from  the  sale  of  the 
thirty-six  sections  of  land  donated  by  the  United  States  for  a  seminary 
of  learning  and  all  bank  stock  in  which  such  moneys  had  been  invested. -» 
The  fund  was  placed  under  the  control  of  the  "commissioner  of  the 
Seminary  Fund,"  whom  the  governor  was  authorized  to  appoint  for  a 
term  of  four  years,  with  the  power  of  removing  his  appointee  at  pleasure. 
The  commissioner  was  required  to  take  control  of  all  moneys,  stocks, 
etc.,  belonging  to  the  Seminary  Fund,  and  to  deposit  the  same  in  the 
state  treasury.  He  was  also  authorized  and  instructed  to  bring  suits 
whenever  necessary  to  recover  sums  due  the  fund,  with  the  assistance 
of  the  attorney  general,  who  was  required  to  prosecute  all  such  suits. 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  pp.  458-60. 

2  Rowland,  op.  cit.,  p.  639. 

3  Senate  Journal,  1839,  p.  8. 

4  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1843  (Called  Session),  pp.  57-64- 


HIGHER  EDUCATION,  1817-1800  8l 

A  further  duty  of  the  commissioner  was  to  investigate  and  report  on 
the  condition  and  previous  history  of  the  seminary  lands  and  receipts 
therefrom,  showing  the  amount  received  from  leases  prior  to  the  sale 
of  the  lands  in  1833;  the  amount  of  the  sales;  when,  how,  and  by 
whom  invested;  the  amount  due  the  fund,  and  by  whom,  at  the  time 
of  the  appointment  of  the  commissioner.  The  state  treasurer  was 
required  to  keep  a  separate  account  of  this  fund  and  to  credit  to  this 
account  all  moneys  previously  paid  into  the  treasury  from  the  seminary 
lands,  and  5  per  cent  interest  from  the  date  they  were  received  until 
the  act  became  effective.  An  interest  rate  of  8  per  cent  was  allowed 
upon  the  fund  after  the  passage  of  the  act.' 

In  1846  the  office  of  commissioner  of  the  Seminary  Fund  was  abol- 
ished, and  the  duties  of  that  official  were  transferred  to  the  "state  com- 
missioner," who  had  control,  also,  of  several  other  state  funds  that  were 
not  related  to  educational  affairs."  At  the  same  session  the  legislature 
authorized  the  state  commissioner  to  ''compound  and  compromise  with 
the  debtors"  to  the  Seminary  Fund,  provided  that  the  governor  of  the 
state  and  the  attorney  general  approved  in  each  instance. ^ 

In  the  meantime,  through  the  failure  of  the  Planters'  Bank  and  the 
dishonesty  of  many  purchasers  of  seminary  lands,  a  large  part  of  the  fund 
had  been  lost.  Governor  A.  G.  Brown,  in  1846,  submitted  to  the  legis- 
lature a  statement  showing  the  account  of  the  fund  at  that  time  to  be 
as  follows: 

Amount  now  in  the  treasury  of  the  state $103,068 .40 

Lost  principal  and  interest  in  Planters'  Bank ....    110,000. 00 
To  be  collected,  but  in  safe  hands  and  secure 38,356-93 

Total $251,425  -33 

The  governor  reminded  the  legislature  that  the  Seminary  Fund  was  a 
trust  fund,  "so  declared  by  the  act  of  Congress  making  the  donation  of 
lands,  out  of  which  it  sprang."     Continuing,  he  said: 

The  state  as  trustee  had  no  authority  for  investing  it  in  any  bank;  she 
did  so,  however,  and  $84,900,  with  several  years  interest  on  that  amount  has 
been  lost.  The  State  is,  in  my  opinion,  under  the  most  solemn  obligation  to 
pay  it  back.     It  is  an  obligation,  not  to  Congress,  but  to  the  children  within 

^  The  act  creating  the  Seminary  Fund  failed  to  provide  compensation  for  the  com- 
missioner. This  defect  in  the  act  was  corrected  at  the  next  session  of  the  legislature, 
which  fixed  his  salar>^  at  $1,500  per  annum.     Laws  of  Mississippi,  1844,  pp.  129-30 

2  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1846,  p.  134. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  241-42. 


82  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

her  own  borders,  for  whose  especial  education  the  fund  was  set  apart.  I 
am  fully  persuaded  that  Mississippi  will  never  incur  the  reproach  of  with- 
holding justice  and  the  means  of  education  from  her  own  children,  and 
therefore  I  submit  the  question  to  you  without  discussing  the  state's  legal 
responsibility.^ 

The  legislature,  however,  left  the  matter  in  abeyance,  and  adopted 
the  policy  of  making  stated  appropriations  from  the  state  treasury  for 
the  support  of  the  University  of  Mississippi  while  the  question  of  the 
state's  obligation  drifted  along.  In  1848  the  rate  of  interest  on  the  por- 
tion of  the  fund  that  was  in  the  state  treasury  was  reduced  to  6  per  cent.^ 
On  February  10,  i860,  a  resolution  of  the  legislature  was  approved, 
which  authorized  the  governor  to  appoint  a  commissioner  to  conduct  a 
thorough  investigation  of  the  Seminary  Fund,  from  the  time  of  the  land 
grant  in  18 19  to  date,  and  to  report  to  the  governor  on  or  before  Octo- 
ber I,  1 86 1. 3  Thus  the  final  settlement  of  the  state's  obligation  dragged 
on  beyond  the  limits  set  for  this  study/ 

Jefferson  College 
The  story  of  the  incorporation  and  early  career  of  Jefferson  College 
has  been  told  in  chapter  iii.  During  the  territorial  period  the  institu- 
tion was  frankly  nothing  more  than  a  respectable  academy,  or  rather 
it  was  theoretically  a  college  which  had  opened  only  its  preparatory 
department.  When  Mississippi  became  a  state  the  trustees  of  the 
school  appear  to  have  endeavored  to  make  it  a  real  college.  A  scholarly 
president  was  secured  and  preparations  were  made  for  collegiate  work. 
The  president,  however,  soon  lost  the  confidence  of  some  of  the  stronger 
religious  denominations  of  the  state,  the  institution  was  denounced  as  a 
nursery  of  infideUty,  and  the  promise  of  prosperity  suddenly  vanished. ^ 
"An  empty  dome  with  pensioned  preceptors"  is  the  picture  of  the 
institution  as  Governor  Poindexter  saw  it  in  1821.^  About  the  same 
time  a  correspondent  of  the  Mississippi  State  Gazette  suggested  three 
reasons  as  an  explanation  of  ''the  decline  of  Jefferson  College,"  namely, 

'Cluskey,  Speeches,  Messages,  and  Other  Writings  of  A.  G.  Brown,  p.  6. 
'  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1848,  p.  104.  3  Ihid.,  1859-60,  pp.  391-93. 

4  Settlement  was  finally  made  in  1880  on  the  basis  urged  by  Governor  Brown 
thirty-four  years  before.  The  amount  of  fund,  with  accrued  interest,  was  estimated  at 
$544,061,  which  was  charged  to  the  state  as  a  debt,  on  which  the  state  pays  6  per  cent 
annual  interest  to  the  state  university.     Rowland,  op.  cit.,  p.  640. 

5  Morrison,  "Early  History  of  Jefferson  College,"  Publications  of  the  Mississippi 
Historical  Society,  II,  179-88. 

^Mississippi  State  Gazette,  January  6,  182 1. 


HIGHER  EDUCATION,  1817-1860  83 

that  expenses  were  so  high  that  they  precluded  all  but  the  wealthy, 
that  the  school  was  lacking  in  scientific  equipment,  and  that  it  needed 
a  popular  as  well  as  a  scholarly  president.' 

During  the  early  years  of  statehood  the  trustees  of  the  college  were 
left  to  manage  as  best  they  could  without  interference  or  assistance 
from  the  state,  except  for  a  loan  of  $4,000,  which  was  granted  in  1820.^ 
In  1826  the  legislature  appears  to  have  considered  the  advisability  of 
making  Jefferson  College  the  beneficiary  of  the  federal  grant  of  the 
"Seminary  lands."  The  charter  was  so  modified  that  the  number  of 
trustees  was  reduced  to  twenty-five,  the  governor  and  Heutenant- 
governor  were  made  ex  officio  members  of  the  board,  with  the  governor 
as  president,  and  it  was  provided  that  all  vacancies  that  should  occur 
in  the  board  of  trustees  should  be  filled  by  the  general  assembly,  unless 
the  assembly  should  direct  the  board  to  fill  them.^  Nothing  further  was 
done,  however,  toward  making  Jefferson  College  the  state  university, 
and  the  assembly  of  1829  clearly  had  very  different  views.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  central  and  northern  part  of  the  state  and  the  prospects 
of  the  early  opening  of  the  Chickasaw  lands  for  settlement  had  left  the 
college  in  one  corner  of  the  state,  where  it  was  inaccessible  to  the  bulk 
of  the  population.  The  assembly  now  sought  to  secure  the  surrender 
of  the  charter  of  Jefferson  College  with  the  expectation  of  establishing 
a  new  institution  more  centrally  located,  and  conferring  upon  it  both 
the  endowment  granted  to  the  trustees  of  Jefferson  College  by  the 
federal  government  and  the  seminary  lands  which  were  held  in  trust 
by  the  state.^  Legal  difficulties  were  encountered,  however,  the  agents 
appointed  by  the  assembly  to  confer  with  the  college  trustees  failed  to 
reach  an  agreement  with  them,  and  the  plan  was  abandoned. 

The  trustees  of  the  college,  in  the  meantime,  had  decided  to  reorganize 
the  institution  on  the  plan  of  the  West  Point  Military  Academy.  The 
general  assembly  sympathized  with  the  idea  to  the  extent  of  authorizing 
the  state  quartermaster  to  lend  arms  to  the  college  for  use  in  military 
instruction. 5  This  plan  proved  popular,  and  the  college  took  on  new 
life.     Governor  Brandon  in  his  message  to  the  assembly  in  1830  said: 

Jefferson  College  continues  to  prosper  beyond  our  expectations,  and 
promises  to  do  much  good  by  spreading  a  knowledge  of  science  and  military 
tactics  throughout  the  state.*^ 

^  Ibid.,  January  27,  1821.  ^Ihid.,  1829,  p.  112. 

2  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1820,  p.  53.  s  Ibid.,  p.  108. 

3  Ibid.,  1826,  pp.  51-52.  *  Senate  Journal,  1830,  pp.  8-9. 


84  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

The  need  of  funds  was  one  of  the  constant  difficulties  that  confronted 
the  trustees  of  the  college.  The  thirty-six  sections  of  land,  which  the 
general  government  granted  to  the  institution  in  1803,  had  been  located 
on  the  Tombigbee  River— in  the  portion  of  the  territory  which  later 
became  the  state  of  Alabama.  During  the  Alabama  land  boom  in 
1818,  a  part  of  the  township  was  leased,  and  about  $8,000  was  received 
as  first  payments  on  the  leases.  But  the  lands  soon  declined  in  value 
when  the  boom  subsided,  and  practically  all  of  the  lessees  forfeited 
their  contracts  before  their  second  payments  were  made.^  In  1830  the 
general  assembly  memorialized  Congress  to  substitute  a  township  of 
land  from  the  public  lands  of  Mississippi  for  the  ''sterile,  unproductive 
pine  barrens"  that  were  selected  under  the  original  grant.^  The  request 
was  granted  by  an  act  of  Congress  "for  the  relief  of  Jefferson  College" 
passed  in  1832.  By  this  act  the  trustees  were  authorized  to  relinquish 
the  Tombigbee  lands  and  to  locate  other  lands  in  Mississippi  under  most 
satisfactory  terms.  The  college  agent  was  authorized  "to  advertise  for 
proposals  for  the  purchase  of  the  right  of  location  under  the  fourth 
section  of  the  act  for  the  rehef  of  the  college,  and  subsequently  to  sell 
and  convey  that  right  at  the  rate  of  six  dollars  and  fifty  cents  an  acre, 
payable  in  installments. "^  The  entire  thirty-six  sections  were  sold,  and 
a  considerable  sum  was  collected.  By  1835  the  vested  endowment 
was  said  to  be  $150,000,  and  more  was  collected  and  invested  later. 
Fifty  thousand  dollars  of  the  endowment  fund  was  invested  in  bank 
stock  and  lost  in  the  panic  of  1837.4 

After  1830  the  legislature  gave  evidence  of  Httle  interest  in  Jefferson 
College.  For  more  than  a  decade  the  only  legislation  bearing  upon  the 
college  consisted  of  two  acts  authorizing  the  trustees  to  fill  vacancies  in 
their  own  body,s  which,  under  the  law,  the  legislature  might  have 
filled.  During  this  period  the  school  continued  as  a  military  institu- 
tion, and  had  a  fair  patronage.  The  endowment  secured  from  the  sale 
of  the  college  lands  enabled  the  trustees  to  fix  the  fees  at  a  small  figure— 
a  matriculation  fee  of  $5.00,  which  was  payable  only  once  and  a  tuition 
rate  of  $12 .  50  a  session.^ 

'  Morrison,  op.  ciL,  p.  185. 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1830,  pp.  145-46. 

3  United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  VI,  484-85-  "  Rowland,  op.  cit.,  pp.  962-63. 

5  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1833,  Mississippi  State  Archives,  Series  I,  No.  19;  Laws  of 
Mississippi,  1841,  p.  159. 

6  Natchez  Weekly  Courier  and  Journal,  January  27,  1837.  This  paper  also  gives 
informarion  as  to  the  faculty  and  curriculum  at  that  rime.  There  were  at  the  time 
four  college  professors  and  two  preparatory  teachers  in  the  faculty.     The  college 


HIGHER  EDUCATION,  1817-1860  85 

In  1843  the  legislature  passed  an  act  reducing  the  number  of  trustees 
to  ten,  of  whom  the  governor  of  the  state  was  made  ex  officio  chairman. 
The  other  nine  were  appointed  by  the  governor  with  the  approval  of 
the  senate/  In  the  following  year  this  act  and  all  acts  giving  the 
legislature  power  of  appointing  trustees  were  repealed,  and  the  manage- 
ment of  the  college  reverted  to  the  control  of  the  self-perpetuating  board, 
as  provided  in  the  original  charter.''  The  number  of  the  board  was 
fixed  at  twelve  members. 

In  1854  the  legislature  authorized  the  trustees  of  the  college  to 
establish  a  branch  at  Natchez  and  to  attach  to  the  branch,  schools  of 
medicine  and  law;^  but  the  project  was  never  carried  out.  In  the 
same  year  the  legislature  also  passed  a  resolution  demanding  that  the 
college  repay  the  loans  made  m  181 6  and  1820,  and  caused  a  suit  to  be 
begun  for  the  amount. ^  Judgment  was  rendered  against  the  college 
in  the  circuit  court  of  Adams  County,  but  a  later  legislature  remitted 
the  entire  debt  on  the  condition  that  the  trustees  pay  the  costs  of  the 
court. 5  This  act  of  forgiveness  closed  the  legislation  upon  the  state's 
oldest  college  in  so  far  as  the  pre-Civil  War  period  is  concerned. ** 


professorships  were  as  follows:  Intellectual  philosophy  and  belle-Iettres  (filled  by  the 
president);  Greek,  Latin,  and  Modern  languages;  mathematics,  geology,  and  civil 
engineering;  and  natural  philosophy  and  chemistry. 

The  work  required  for  a  degree  from  the  institution  was  as  follows: 

Freshman  class:  Graeca  Minora,  Grecian  and  Roman  Antiquities,  Livy,  Greek 
and  Latin  exercises,  review  of  Greek  and  Latin  grammars,  arithmetic,  algebra  to 
equations,  English  grammar  and  composition,  and  Blair's  Lectures  (abridged). 

Sophomore  class:  Geography  astronomically,  geometry  and  algebra,  Gmfca 
Major  a  (Vol.  I,  finished),  Horace,  rhetoric,  English  grammar  and  composition,  general 
history. 

Junior  class:  First  semester — solid  geometry,  plain  and  spherical  trigonometry, 
surveying,  and  navigation;  Juvenal,  Latin  composition;  chemistr>'  and  natural 
philosophy;  Graeca  Majora  (Vol.  II,  begun).  Second  semester — Graeca  Major  a 
(Vol.  II,  finished),  analytical  geometry,  theory  of  curves,  conic  sections,  and  differential 
calculus;    natural  philosophy;    descriptive  geometry;    Juvenal  (finished). 

Senior  class:  First  semester — Integral  calculus,  astronomy,  topography,  and 
civil  engineering;  natural  philosophy;  Campbell's  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  Cicero  de 
Oratore,  logic,  and  composition;  philosophy  of  mind.  Second  semester — Moral 
philosophy;  political  economy;  Longinus  de  Sublimate,  Foley's  Natural  Theology, 
Evidences  of  Christianity;   chronology  and  history;   reviews;   president's  lectures. 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1843,  pp.  87-89. 

'Ibid.,  1844,  pp.  225-26. 

3  Ibid.,  1854,  pp.  361-62.       4  Ibid.,  p.  5S6.       s  Ibid.,  1858,  p.  170. 

6  The  institution  is  now  a  mihtary  academy.  It  has  not  been  regarded  as  a  state 
institution  at  any  time  since  i860. 


86  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

MISSISSIPPI   COLLEGE 

The  general  assembly  of  Mississippi  in  1826  passed  an  act  ''to 
establish  an  academy  in  Hinds  County,"  which  was  placed  under  the 
superintendence  of  a  self-perpetuating  board  of  trustees  of  twelve  mem- 
bers. The  school  was  called  Hampstead  Academy,  and  was  located  at 
Clinton.^ 

When  this  academy  was  incorporated,  the  question  regarding  the 
location  of  a  state  institution  for  higher  education  was  already  receiving 
the  thoughtful  attention  of  pohtical  leaders.  Clinton  at  that  time  was 
a  flourishing  town,  was  located  within  nine  miles  of  Jackson,  and  was 
the  serious  contender  for  the  permanent  location  of  the  state  capitol. 
The  trustees  of  Hampstead  Academy  undertook  to  convince  the  general 
assembly  that  their  institution  was  the  logical  place  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  state  university.  The  assembly  was  so  favorably  impressed 
that  it  amended  the  charter  of  Hampstead  in  1827,  changed  the  name  to 
Mississippi  Academy,  and  appropriated  to  the  institution  all  rents  that 
had  been  received  from  the  seminary  lands  and  all  that  might  be  received 
for  a  period  of  five  years  from  the  making  of  the  leases  that  had  previ- 
ously been  made.^  The  trustees,  also,  were  authorized  to  raise  $20,000 
by  a  lottery,  and  ''the  proprietors  of  the  town  of  Clinton"  were  per- 
mitted to  dispose  of  town  lots  by  lottery,  on  condition  that  15  per  cent 
of  the  proceeds  of  these  lotteries  should  be  applied  to  the  "use  and 
benefit  of  Mississippi  Academy." 

Two  years  later  the  assembly  authorized  a  loan  of  $5,000  to  Missis- 
sippi Academy  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  and  completing  the  buildings, 
and  the  state  took  a  mortgage  on  the  campus  and  buildings  to  secure 
the  loan.  The  act  provided  that  the  principal  was  to  be  repaid  in  two 
equal  instalments  in  1830  and  1831.  In  case  the  loan  was  repaid  w^hen 
due,  no  interest  was  to  be  charged,  but  otherwise  the  academy  was 
required  to  pay  6  per  cent  annual  interest.^ 

In  1830  the  name  of  the  institution  was  changed  to  Mississippi 
College,  and  the  trustees  were  authorized  to  confer  degrees.^  An 
amendment  to  the  charter  in  1833  gave  to  the  legislature  the  power  of 
filling  all  vacancies  in  the  board  of  trustees,  with  the  provision  that  the 
governor  might  make  temporary  appointments  during  the  recesses  of 
the  legislature.  The  legislature  proceeded  in  the  same  act  to  exercise 
its  new  prerogative  and  added  to  the  board  as  then  constituted  •  the 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1826,  pp.  23-25. 

^Ibid.,  1827,  pp.  85-86. 

3  Ibid.,  1829,  pp.  54-55.  "  Ibid.,  1830  (November  Session),  pp.  101-2. 


HIGHER  EDUCATION,  1817-1860  87 

names  of  Daniel  Comfort,  Isaac  Caldwell,  Cowles  Meade,  A.  B.  Shelby, 
Jacob  B.  Morgan,  and  Ethelwin  Sadler/  From  1833  to  1841,  inclu- 
sive, Mississippi  College  remained  a  quasi-state  institution,  but  received 
no  further  contributions  to  its  support  from  the  state  government. 

In  1 84 1  the  legislature  selected  a  site  for  the  state  university  in  the 
extreme  northern  part  of  the  state.^  The  trustees  of  Mississippi  College 
then  determined  to  make  the  institution  a  denominational  school,  and 
in  1842  tendered  it  to  the  Clinton  Presbytery.  The  offer  was  accepted 
and  the  school  began  its  career  as  a  Presbyterian  college  with  flattermg 
prospects.  A  few  years  later,  however,  the  strife  between  the  ''old 
school"  and  the  "new  school"  Presbyterians  was  brought  into  the 
college  affairs  and  caused  a  decline  in  attendance.  The  Presbytery 
became  discouraged,  and  apparently  was  ready  to  have  the  institution 
taken  off  its  hands. ^ 

The  legislature  of  1848  seriously  considered  the  question  of  estab- 
lishing a  state  institution  for  the  training  of  teachers.  The  trustees 
of  Mississippi  College  thereupon  made  an  effort  to  have  the  college 
transformed  into  a  state  normal.  On  January  18,  1848,  the  House  of 
Representatives  adopted  the  following  resolution  relative  to  the  proposi- 
tion of  the  trustees : 

Whereas,  The  trustees  of  Mississippi  College  at  Clinton,  in  the  county 
of  Hinds,  have  signified  a  willingness  to  surrender  that  institution  to  the  state 
for  the  use  of  a  normal  school;  and 

Whereas,  The  state  did  some  years  ago  loan  to  said  institution  a  sum 
of  money  which  still  remains  unpaid,  and  which  is  secured  by  mortgage  on 
the  buildings  and  grounds  of  said  colleges;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  on  normal  schools  be  instructed  to  visit 
the  town  of  Clinton,  and  ascertain  by  a  personal  examination  of  the  buildings 
and  appurtenances  of  Mississippi  College  whether  the  said  buildings  would 
answer  the  purposes  of  a  Normal  school.^ 

The  committee,  after  visiting  Clinton,  reported  that  they  enter- 
tained the  opinion  that  "insurmountable  objections"  existed  "to  the 
use  of  those  buildings  for  the  purposes  of  such  a  school."  One  of  the 
"insurmountable  obstacles"  was  stated  as  follows: 

The  buildings  are  upon  a  scale  and  in  a  style  unsuitable  for  the  purpose. 
They  are  much  more  extensive  than  would  be  required,  and  would  demand 

^  Ibid.,  1833  (November-December),  Mississippi  State  Archives,  Series  I,  No.  19. 
^Ihid.y  1841,  pp.  143-45- 

3  B rough,  "Historic  Clinton,"  Publications  oj  the  Mississippi  Historical  Society, 
VII,  281-312. 

<  House  Journal,  184S,  pp.  485-86. 


88  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

a  greater  outlay  of  money  at  once,  and  entail  a  greater  expense  for  present 
and  future  repairs  than  the  plan  of  such  a  school  makes  at  all  necessary.^ 

Having  failed  to  transfer  the  responsibility  for  the  college  to  the 
state,  the  Presbytery  decided  on  July  27,  1850,  to  return  the  institution 
to  the  citizens  of  Clinton,  and  passed  a  resolution  that  ''the  relation 
heretofore  existing  between  this  Presbytery  and  the  Board  be  hereby 
dissolved."  The  board  of  trustees  was  then  reorganized  and  decided 
to  offer  the  school  to  the  Baptist  denomination.  The  offer  was  made 
and  was  accepted  by  the  state  Baptist  Convention  in  November  of  the 
same  year.^ 

Mississippi  College  opened  its  first  session  as  a  Baptist  institution 
in  the  fall  of  1850.  The  new  Baptist  board  of  trustees  secured  an  act 
from  the  legislature  authorizing  the  college  to  lend  its  funds  and  to 
receive  interest  on  notes  executed  for  scholarships  at  a  rate  not  exceed- 
ing 10  per  cent.5  The  trustees  then  began  a  campaign  to  raise  an 
endowment  by  the  sale  of  scholarships,  and  succeeded  in  raising  over 
$100,000.''  During  the  decade  of  Baptist  control  from  1850  to  i860 
only  one  other  act  of  legislation  had  reference  to  the  college.  In  1854  a 
rather  miscellaneous  bill  was  passed  entitled,  "an  act  for  the  benefit  of 
Mississippi  College."  By  this  act  the  state  released  the  college  from  the 
lien  on  its  campus  and  buildings  ''for  money  heretofore  advanced  to  aid 
the  college,"  donated  to  the  college  library  a  copy  of  Hutchinson's 
Code  of  Mississippi  and  other  state  publications,  forbade  the  business 
men  of  Clinton  to  sell  to  students  of  the  college  on  credit,  and  prohibited 
the  sale  of  vinous  and  spirituous  Hquors  within  five  miles  of  the  college 
campus.5 

THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   MISSISSIPPI 

In  1840  the  state  legislature  definitely  committed  itself  to  the 
proposition  of  establishing  a  state  university  as  soon  as  the  necessary 
preliminaries  could  be  disposed  of.  On  February  20  of  that  year  an 
act  was  approved  which  proposed  ''to  provide  for  the  location  of  the 

^  House  Journal,  p.  505. 

2  Leavell  and  Bailey,  A  Complete  History  of  Mississippi  Baptists  from  the  Earliest 
Times y  II,  1296. 

3  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850  (Called  Session,  November),  p.  32. 

"Leavell  and  Bailey,  op.  cit.,  pp.  1299-1301.  The  first  session  of  Mississippi 
College  under  Baptist  control  opened  in  1850  with  one  teacher  and  fourteen  students. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  there  were  six  men  in  the  faculty  and  an  enrolment 
of  228  students. 

s  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1854,  pp.  469-70. 


HIGHER  EDUCATION,  1817-1860  89 

State  University."  This  act  provided  that  the  legislature  should 
select  seven  possible  sites,  and  should  appoint  a  commission  of  three, 
representing  the  different  sections  of  the  state,  to  examine  and  report 
upon  these  seven  sites  to  the  legislature  at  its  next  session.  It  was 
agreed  that  the  legislature  should  then  ballot  upon  these  sites,  dropping 
the  one  with  the  least  votes  after  each  ballot,  until  one  site  should 
receive  a  majority  vote.  The  act  also  appropriated  the  Seminary 
Fund  to  the  ''University  of  the  State  of  Mississippi."^  In  accordance 
with  this  act  the  legislature  at  its  next  session  in  1841  selected  a  site  for 
the  university  at  Oxford  in  Lafayette  County,  and  appointed  commis- 
sioners to  secure  titles  to  the  lands  chosen.^  In  the  following  year  the 
governor  was  authorized  to  appoint  a  "commissioner"  to  preserve  the 
site  from  waste.^ 

The  act  of  incorporation  for  the  University  of  Mississippi  was 
passed  in  1844,  and  was  approved  by  the  governor  on  February  24  of 
that  year.  The  trustees  were  named  in  the  charter  and  made  a  self- 
perpetuating  body.4  They  were  authorized  to  adopt  a  "system  of 
learning,"  and  to  contract  for  the  erection  of  the  "University  building" 
as  soon  as  they  should  think  advisable.  No  appropriation  was  made 
for  the  buildings,  but  the  trustees  were  given  full  control  over  the 
Seminary  Fund,  and  they  were  expected,  it  seems,  to  use  this  fund  for 
building  purposes.  A  blanket  provision  gave  to  the  trustees  all  powers 
conferred  upon  similar  corporations  in  the  state. 

Before  the  trustees  had  time  to  make  use  of  any  of  the  $100,000 
then  in  the  treasury  of  the  state  to  the  credit  of  the  Seminary  Fund, 
the  portion  of  the  charter  giving  the  trustees  control  of  that  fund  was 
repealed  and  the  management  of  the  fund  was  returned  to  the  state 
commissioner. s  In  1846  Governor  Brown  urged  the  necessity  of  an 
appropriation  for  the  erection  of  the  university  buildings.  "Economy 
should  be  observed  in  construction,"  he  said,  "convenience  and  dura- 
bility being  consulted  rather  than  beauty  and  adornment."  He  recom- 
mended that  the  sum  set  apart  for  building  purposes  be  limited  to 
$50,000.^  The  legislature  accordingly  made  an  appropriation  of  $50,000 
as  recommended,  one-half  payable  on  demand  of  the  trustees  and  the 

^  Ibid.,   1840,  pp.  92-95.    ^  Ibid.,  1841,  pp.  143-45-    ^  !i'!d.,    1S42,  p.  258. 

^  Ibid.,  1844,  pp.  227-28.  The  trustees  named  in  the  charter  were  J.  Alexander 
Ventress,  John  A.  Quitman,  Wm.  L.  Sharkey,  Alexander  M.  Clayton,  William  Y. 
Gholson,  Jacob  Thompson,  Pr>'or  Lea,  Edward  C.  Wilkinson,  James  M.  Howry, 
John  J.  McCaughan,  Rev.  Francis  Hawkes,  J.  N.  Waddell,  and  \.  H.  Pegues. 

s  Ibid.,  1846,  pp.  248-49.  <»  Senate  Journal,  1846,  p.  14. 


go  EDUCATION.AX  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

balance  on  January  i,  1847.'    This  appropriation  was  taken  from  the 
Seminary  Fund.^ 

The  University  of  Mississippi  opened  for  its  first  session  in  the  fall 
of  1848  with  a  faculty  of  four  and  an  attendance  of  eighty  students. 
Twelve  years  of  steady  progress  marked  the  history  of  the  school  until 
the  beginning  of  the  war  between  the  states.  The  enrolment  for  the 
session  of  1860-61  was  226  students. ^  The  legislation  concerning  the 
university  during  these  twelve  years  dealt  chiefly  with  the  question  of 
the  support  of  the  institution. ^ 

MISSISSIPPI   STATE   FEMALE   COLLEGE 

The  incorporation  of  the  Mississippi  State  Female  College  was  the 
result  of  the  determination  and  enthusiasm  of  Miss  Salhe  Eola  Reneau, 
who  agitated  the  question  of  a  female  college  supported  by  the  state 
through  the  public  press  and  personally  urged  the  matter  upon  the 
governor  and  the  state  legislature.  In  his  message  to  the  legislature 
in  1856  Governor  McRae  incorporated  the  following  brief  paragraph 
upon  the  subject: 

The  proposition  of  the  establishment  by  the  State  of  a  Female  College, 
for  the  thorough  and  accomplished  education  of  the  daughters  of  the  State^ 
has  been  brought  prominently  and  interestingly  before  the  pubhc,  and  to  the 
notice  of  the  Executive,  by  Miss  Reneau,  a  young  lady  of  accompHshment, 
intelligence,  and  talent,  educated  in  this  State,  a  resident  of  Grenada,  engaged 
in  the  business  of  female  instruction,  and  devoted  to  the  intellectual  advance- 
ment of  her  sex.  I  commend  the  subject  to  the  favorable  consideration  of 
the  legislatures 

Miss  Reneau  followed  up  the  governor's  recommendation  with  a 
memorial  in  which  she  outlined  her  plans  for  the  college,  and  made  an 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1846,  p.  249.  As  a  result  of  this  appropriation  the  trustees 
were  enabled  to  report  to  the  legislature  in  1848  that  they  had  erected  a  main  building, 
two  dormitories,  a  steward's  hall,  and  four  six-room  cottages  for  the  homes  of  the 
faculty.  The  main  building  was  three  stories  high,  designed  to  reproduce  the  "  Grecian 
Ionic  Temple  on  the  Illyseus  near  Athens."  It  contained  on  the  first  floor  a  laboratory 
and  a  lecture  hall  for  the  department  of  chemistry,  electricity,  geology,  and  the  science 
of  agriculture;  on  the  second  floor,  an  assembly  room  and  two  lecture-rooms;  on  the 
third  floor,  a  library,  museum,  and  rooms  for  the  literary  societies.  The  two  dormi- 
tories were  also  three-story  buildings  and  contained  seventy-two  rooms.  See  trustees' 
report  in  House  Journal,  1848,  p.  48. 

»  Auditor's  Report,  House  Journal,  1848,  p.  71- 

3  Rowland,  op.  cit.,  p.  844. 

4  This  legislation  is  discussed  in  chap,  xi,  pp.  127-28. 
s  House  Journal,  1856,  pp.  22-23. 


HIGHER  EDUCATION,  1817-1860  91 

eloquent  plea  for  their  adoption.  She  advocated  a  school  with  three 
departments,  an  elementary  school,  an  academy,  and  a  college.  The 
latter  she  wished  to  embrace  "the  whole  circle  of  science  and  polite 
literature,  as  taught  in  the  best  male  colleges  in  the  United  States, 
together  with  ample  provisions  for  music  and  other  ornamentals."^ 

Miss  Reneau's  plans  apparently  met  a  favoraljle  reception  at  the 
hands  of  the  legislature.  The  school  was  incorporated  under  the  name 
"  The  State  Female  College  of  Mississippi,"  and  the  charter  was  approved 
February  20,  1856.  A  self-perpetuating  board  of  trustees  was  given 
full  power  and  control  over  "funds  hereafter  appropriated  by  the  legis- 
lature of  this  state  for  the  endowment  of  the  said  State  Female  College 
of  Mississippi."  The  trustees  were  also  authorized  to  employ  a  com- 
petent person  to  draft  a  plan  for  the  college  and  to  appoint  commis- 
sioners to  contract  for  the  erection  of  the  college  buildings  so  soon  as 
they  should  think  advisable.^ 

The  legislature,  however,  made  no  appropriation  for  the  State 
Female  College  at  its  session  of  1856,  nor  did  its  successor  in  1858.  In 
i860  Miss  Reneau  addressed  a  memorial  to  Congress  asking  that  500,000 
acres  of  the  1,200,000  acres  of  public  land  in  the  state  then  unsold  be 
granted  for  the  endowment  of  the  State  Female  College.^  The  state's 
secession  from  the  Union  prevented  any  action  on  this  petition.  The 
State  Female  College  never  opened  its  doors  to  the  young  women  of 
the  state,  but  it  was  the  beginning  of  an  agitation  for  female  education 
that  influenced  Mississippi  to  take  a  most  credible  position  in  that 
regard  when  normal  conditions  returned  after  the  Civil  War. 

THE  INCORPORATION  OF  PRIVATE  AND  DENOMINATIONAL  COLLEGES 

•  In  addition  to  the  legislation  relative  to  the  four  institutions  already 
discussed  in  this  chapter  there  were  a  number  of  private  colleges  incor- 
porated by  individuals,  religious  denominations,  and  fraternal  societies. 
Usually  the  only  legislation  upon  these  schools  was  the  act  by  which 
they  were  incorporated. 

The  first  denominational  school  that  was  clearly  of  college  rank  to 
receive  a  charter  in  Mississippi  was  Oakland  College,  incorporated  by 
the  Presbyterians  in  1830.  The  act  of  corporation  designates  the  school 
as  "The  Institution  of  Learning  under  the  care  of  the  Mississippi 
Presbytery,"  and  leaves  the  trustees  to  determine  a  name  for  it.  There 
were  twelve  trustees  named  in  the  act  who  were  permitted  to  hold 

'  Ibid.,  pp.  282-88. 

*  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1856,  pp.  383-84.  3  Ibid.,  1S72,  p.  128. 


92  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

property  to  any  amount,  provided  the  actual  income  therefrom  did  not 
exceed  $10,000  a  year.  The  trustees  were  directed  to  make  provision 
for  instruction  "in  EngHsh  Language,  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages, 
in  Mathematics  and  the  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  such  other  branches  of 
Literature"  as  might  be  within  their  means,  ''in  order  to  prepare  young 
men  for  business,  or  any  of  the  learned  professions."' 

The  acts  of  mcorporation  for  colleges  are  very  similar  to  the  charters 
of  the  academies  and  other  secondary  schools.  In  fact  it  is  very  difhcult 
to  draw  any  definite  line  of  distinction  between  the  higher  and  secondary 
institutions.  Usually  the  property  limit  of  the  colleges  is  considerably 
higher,  but  there  are  disconcerting  exceptions  to  this  rule.  Sharon 
College,  for  instance,  was  restricted  to  $30,000  worth  of  property,  while 
Elizabeth  Female  Academy  was  permitted  to  own  $100,000  worth. 
Both  were  property  of  the  Methodist  denomination.  All  of  the  colleges 
were  permitted  to  confer  degrees,^  but  there  are  several  instances  where 
this  power  was  given  also  to  academies,  institutes,  and  seminaries.^ 
Ahnost  all  the  mstitutions  which  bear  the  name  "college"  were  given 
exemption  from  taxation,  but  this  favor,  also,  was  conferred  occasionally 
upon  secondary  schools.  The  self-perpetuating  board  of  trustees  was 
the  most  popular  method  of  organization  for  colleges,  as  it  was  also 
for  the  academies. 

The  total  number  of  colleges  incorporated  by  the  territory  and  state 
prior  to  i860  was  thirty- three.  Excluding  Hancock  College  and 
Kemper  College,  which  have  been  classed  as  secondary  schools,  the  Ust 
is  given  in  full  below,  with  the  county  in  which  each  institution  was 
located  and  the  date  of  incorporation.  In  case  the  school  is  known  to 
have  been  under  denominational  or  fraternal  control,  the  organization 
interested  is  given  in  parentheses  just  after  the  name  of  the  school. 

Colleges  and  Universities  Incorporated  in  Mississippi  Prior  to  i860 

Jefferson  College,  Adams May             3,  1802 

Oakland  College  (Presbyterian),  Claiborne December    3,  1830 

Mississippi  College  (State,  Presbyterian,  Baptist),  Hinds, 

by  amendment  to  charter  of  Hampstead  Academy. .  .  December  16,  1830 

Sharon  College,  Madison May           12,  1837 

Chulahoma  College,  Marshall January     30,  1839 

University  at  HoUy  Springs,  Marshall February     9,  1839 

1  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1830  (November),  pp.  47-49- 

2  Hancock  College,  apparently  only  a  secondar>^  school,  is  an  exception  to  this 
statement. 

3  See  p.  72. 


HIGHER  EDUCATION,  1817-1860  93 

Grenada  College,  Yalobusha February    15,  1S39 

Mississippi  Female  College,  Lowndes February     5,  1840 

North  Mississippi  College,  Lafayette February     6,  1840 

Centenary  College  (Methodist),  Rankin July  18,  1843 

University  of  Mississippi  (State),  Lafayette February    24,  1844 

Jackson  College,  Hinds January     24,  1846 

Sharon  Female  College  (Methodist),  Madison February   23,  1846 

Eureka  Masonic  College  (Masons),  Holmes February     7,  1848 

Aberdeen   Female   College,  Monroe,   by  amendment   to 

charter  of  Aberdeen  Female  Academy February    27,  1850 

Eudocia  Female  College,  Carroll March  i ,  1850 

Wilmarth  College,  Adams January      27,  1852 

Mississippi  Female  College  (Baptist),  De  Soto February    11,  1852 

Kosciusko  Masonic  Female  College  (Masons),  Attala.  . .  .  March  3,  1852 

Madison  College,  Madison March  4,  1852 

Mary  Washington  Female  College  (Baptist),  Pontotoc. .  .  March  8,  1852 

College  of  St.  Andrews  (Episcopal),  Hinds October      10,  1852 

Central  Mississippi  Female  College  (Baptist),  Holmes.. .  .  February    25,  1854 
Planters'  College,  Claiborne,  by  amendment  to  charter  of 

Southern  Scientific  Institute February    28,  1854 

Newton  College,  Wilkinson March  i,  1854 

Union   Female   College,   Lafayette,    by   amendment    to 

charter  of  Oxford  Female  Academy March  2,  1854 

State  Female  College  of  Mississippi  (State) February   20,  1856 

jMississippi  Masonic  Female  College  (Masons),  Claiborne   March  i,  1856 

\Southern  Female  College  (same  as  above ;  name  changed)    December    2,  1858 

*Semple  Broaddus  College  (Baptist),  De  Soto November  11,  1858 

*Whitworth  College  (Methodist),  Lawrence February     i,  i860 

*Corona  Female  College,  Tishomingo February     9.  1S60 

*Rose  Gates  College,  Chickasaw June  14,  i860 

*  Colleges  whose  names  are  preceded  by  a  star  were  incorporated  by  the  governor  under  the  pro- 
vision of  the  Revised  Code  of  1857.     See  chap,  vi,  p.  64  and  footnote. 

DENOMINATIONAL  AND  FRATERNAL  INFLUENCE 

The  denominational  influence  in  the  incorporation  and  fostering  of 
higher  education  in  the  state  was  very  important.  It  is  not  possible 
to  determine  from  the  charters  and  other  legislative  records  how  many 
colleges  were  under  denominational  control,  but  it  is  probable  that  a 
majority  had  some  religious  afhliation.  Practically  all  the  colleges, 
aside  from  the  state  institutions,  that  have  persisted  down  to  the  present 
time,  were  denominational  schools. 

There  were  several  schools  incorporated  by  fraternal  organizations, 
three  of  which  were  known  as  colleges.^  These  three  colleges  were 
under  the  control  of  local  Masonic  lodges. 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1S48,  pp.  474-76;    185-',  PP-  236-38;    1856,  pp.  355-56. 


94  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

STATE   INFLUENCE    ON   HIGHER   EDUCATION 

The  general  attitude  of  the  state  towards  higher  education  was  that 
of  a  sympathetic  onlooker.  It  was  ready  at  all  times  to  bestow  the 
privileges  of  a  corporate  body  upon  any  group  of  citizens  who  desired 
to  band  together  for  the  estabUshment  of  a  college.  It  was  willing  to 
encourage  such  worthy  purposes  by  granting  exemption  from  taxes 
upon  property  used  for  the  benefit  of  such  institutions,  and  in  the  early 
days  might  permit  the  raising  of  a  limited  amount  of  funds  by  lottery; 
but  it  felt  no  further  responsibility  for  the  success  or  failure  of  the  enter- 
prise. Even  the  so-called  state  institutions  were  under  the  control  of 
self -perpetuating  boards  of  trustees,  and  were  practically  independent  of 
the  state.  This  was  especially  true  of  Jefferson  College,  which  received 
its  land  grant  direct  from  Congress.  Through  its  control  of  the  Semi- 
nary Fund,  the  legislature  retained  a  more  vital  connection  with  the 
state  university,  and  this  relationship  was  apparently  strengthened  by 
the  failure  of  the  state  during  this  period  to  adjust  its  obHgations  to 
the  university  as  trustee  of  the  Seminary  Fund.  So  long  as  those  obli- 
gations remained  unsettled,  the  legislature  found  it  necessary  to  make 
appropriations  to  the  university  from  time  to  time  from  the  accumulated 
interest  the  state  owed  on  the  fund,  thus  bringing  the  trustees  into  a 
feeHng  of  financial  dependence  and  building  up  in  the  legislature  a  sense 
of  responsibihty  to  the  institution. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  FOR  SPECIAL  CLASSES  AND  FOR 
SPECIAL  PURPOSES 

EDUCATION  OF  ORPHANS  AND  POOR  CHILDREN 

The  earliest  provision  made  for  education  of  orphans  was  by  means 
of  apprenticeships.  These  provisions  appHed  also  to  the  children  of 
paupers.  By  an  act  of  February  lo,  1807,  the  overseers  of  the  poor, 
under  the  direction  of  the  county  court,  were  required  to  bind  out  poor 
orphans  and  other  children  whose  parents  were  incapable  of  supporting 
them  to  persons  approved  by  the  court  until  they  should  reach  the  age 
of  eighteen  years,  if  boys,  and  sixteen  years,  if  girls.  The  person  to 
whom  such  a  child  was  bound  was  required  to  provide  his  apprentice 
with  good  wholesome  food,  lodging,  necessary  clothing,  and  to  teach 
hun  or  her  the  business  or  occupation  which  he  pursued  for  a  livelihood, 
and  ''also  to  read,  write,  and  cypher  as  far  as  the  rule  of  three."  In 
case  the  master  failed  to  comply  with  the  law  the  court  was  required 
to  have  the  apprentice  taken  from  him  and  bound  to  another.^ 

The  term  of  apprenticeship  for  male  children  was  extended  in  1809 
to  twenty-one  years,^  and  in  1846  was  reduced  to  nineteen.^  The  law 
of  apprenticeship,  in  so  far  as  its  educational  provisions  are  concerned, 
remained  unchanged  until  1857.  In  that  year  the  wording  of  the 
educational  clause  was  changed  so  as  to  require  masters  to  send  their 
apprentices  to  school  until  they  should  learn  "  to  read,  write,  and  perform 
any  ordinary  calculation  incident  to  the  life  of  a  farmer."^ 

In  1829  the  legislature  passed  an  act  providing  for  the  apprenticeship 
of  free  negro  and  mulatto  orphans  and  poor  children  that  was  ahnost 
identical  with  the  law  for  white  children,  except  that  the  master  was 
required  to  teach  them  only  his  business  or  trade.^ 

In  addition  to  the  laws  for  apprenticeship,  Mississippi,  early  in  her 
history,  made  provision  for  an  orphan  asylum.  In  1819  the  general 
assembly  incorporated  the  Female  Charital^le  Society  of  Natchez, 
whose  purpose  was  to  care  for  and  educate  orphan  children.^  The 
name  of  this  corporation  was  changed  in  1825  to  "The  Orphan  Asylum," 
^  Digest,  1816,  p.  368;  Hutchinson,  Code  of  Mississippi,  p.  297. 

2  jii^    p.  36g.  5  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1829,  pp.  33-34- 

3  Hutchinson,  op.  ciL,  pp.  304-5.  '  ^^S  Laws,  Mississippi  State   Archives, 

4  Revised  Code  of  1857,  pp.  213-14.  ^^"^^  ^'  ^'^-  ^' 

95 


96  EDUCATION.AX  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

the  society  retaining  under  the  new  name  all  the  rights  and  privileges 
given  in  the  original  charter.     It  was  also  granted  the  power  of  guardian 
over  the  inmates.^    With  the  passage  of  this  act  "The  Orphan  Asylum  " 
became  a  quasi-pubhc  institution,  receiving  regularly  state  aid  for  its 
support.     The  act  which  changed  the  name  of  the  institution  made  an 
annual  appropriation  of  $500,  which  the  tax  collector  of  Adams  County 
was  authorized  to  pay  to  the  asylum  each  year  out  of  the  taxes  arising 
from  the  sale  of  merchandise  at  auction  in  Adams  County.     When  the 
tax  on  auction  sales  was  reduced  the  year  following,  the  amount  of 
revenue  from  that  source  was  less  than  the  appropriation  authorized, 
but  the  assembly  in  1827  passed  an  act  for  the  relief  of  the  asylum, 
appropriating  an  amount  sufficient  to  cover  the  loss  that  had  befallen  it.* 
For  eleven  years  no  further  legislation  was  passed  with  reference  to 
the  orphan  asylum.     It  appears  that  the  annual  appropriation  continued 
effective  during  this  period  and  represented  the  full  amount  of  state 
aid  during  these  years.     In  1838  "an  act  for  the  benefit"  of  the  asylum 
carried  a  special  appropriation  of  $800,  which  was  paid  from  the  state 
treasury.^    When  in  the  following  year  the  act  was  passed  appropriating 
the  revenue  from  fines,  forfeitures,  and  amercements  to  academies  in 
the  several  counties,^  the  orphan  asylum  was  given  the  money  from  these 
sources  in  Adams  County.     The  common  school  act  of  1846  also  con- 
tained a  provision  that  left  the  revenue  from  fines,  forfeitures,  and 
amercements  in  the  city  of  Natchez  to  the  asylum,  but  diverted  revenue 
arising  from  these  sources  in  the  rest  of  the  county  to  common  schools.^ 
Additional  funds  for  the  asylum  were  provided  in  1850  by  the  appropria- 
tion of  all  moneys  accruing  from  licenses  to  keepers  of  billiard  tables  in 
Adams  County,  and  also  all  fines  imposed  by  the  circuit  court  of  the 
county.*^    To  these  sources  of  revenue  there  was  added  in  1852  the 
Hcense  fees  from  brokers  in  the  county. ^    These  acts  remained  unaltered 
through  the  rest  of  our  period  of  study. 

There  were  two  other  orphan  asylums  incorporated  in  the  state 
prior  to  i860,  neither  of  which  received  any  financial  assistance  from 
the  state.  On  January  13,  1844,  a  charter  was  granted  the  "Humane 
and  Benevolent  Society  of  Vicksburg,  with  an  Orphan  Asylum 
annexed."*    Ten  years  later  the  St.  Mary's  Orphan  Asylum  was  incor- 

1  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1825,  pp.  87-88.  s  See  chap,  iv,  p.  42. 

2  Ibid.,  1827,  pp.  55-56.  ^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850,  p.  473- 

3  Ibid.,  1838,  p.  245.  7  Ibid.,  1852  (October),  p.  114. 

4  See  chap,  v,  p.  64.  *  Ibid.,  1844,  pp.  248-49- 


LEGISLATION  FOR  SPECIAL  CLASSES  AND  PURPOSES  97 

porated  by  an  act,  which,  in  its  title,  characterized  the  asylum  as  "a 
charitable  and  educational  institution  in  the  city  of  Natchez."' 

MANUAL  LABOR  SCHOOL 

The  only  influence  of  the  manual  labor  movement  in  Mississippi 
apparent  in  the  legislation  of  the  state  is  to  be  found  in  the  activities 
of  the  Mississippi  Baptist  Educational  Society,  which  was  organized  in 
1835,  but  was  not  incorporated.  At  its  first  meeting  this  society  declared 
that  it  deemed  it  necessary  "as  soon  as  practicable  to  establish  a  school 
combining  manual  labor  with  study,  having  for  its  object  the  education 
of  pious  young  men  for  the  gospel  ministry,  and  such  others  as  the  Board 
hereinafter  named  shall  see  fit  to  admit  to  a  participation  of  its  benefits." 
The  society  at  this  meeting  appointed  a  board  of  directors  for  the 
proposed  institution,  who,  in  turn,  selected  an  agent  "to  collect  funds, 
receive  subscriptions,  etc.,  to  carry  into  effect  the  important  design  of  the 
society,  to  wit:  the  establishment  of  a  manual  labor  school,  to  be  under 
the  control  of  the  Baptist  denomination  of  the  state.  "^ 

The  proposed  school  was  incorporated  as  Judson  Institute  on 
February  27,  1836,  and  located  at  Society  Ridge  in  Hinds  County. 
The  charter  placed  the  institution  under  the  control  of  the  Mississippi 
Baptist  Educational  Society,  and  authorized  it  to  own  property  to  the 
amount  of  $250,000.  The  assumption  in  the  charter  apparently  was 
that  the  institution  would  begin  as  a  secondary  school  and  be  developed 
later  into  a  college.  The  trustees  were  permitted  as  soon  as  they  should 
"deem  it  expedient"  to  "enjoy  the  privileges  of  a  college  and  confer 
degrees."^  In  1840  the  charter  was  amended  so  as  to  permit  the  removal 
of  the  school  to  Middleton  in  Carroll  County.-* 

VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 

The  records  of  the  legislative  department  of  Mississippi  give  evidence 
of  little  attention  to  the  subject  of  vocational  education  before  1860.^ 

'  Ibid.,  1854,  pp.  356-57- 

'  Leavell  and  Bailey,  A  Complete  History  of  Mississippi  Baptists  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  1243. 

3  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1836,  pp.  382-84. 

*  Ibid.,  1840,  p.  175.  This  school  attracted  the  favorable  attention  of  the  State 
Baptist  Convention  which  gradually  overshadowed  and  supplanted  the  Educational 
Society,  but  was  never  taken  over  by  that  body.  See  Leavell  and  Bailey,  op.  cii., 
II,  1246. 

s  The  advertisements  in  the  newspapers  of  the  time  indicate  that  some  of  the 
chartered  academies  and  unincorporated  private  schools  offered  courses  in  book- 
keeping, practical  surveying,  and  occasionally  other  vocational  subjects.     As  early  as 


98  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

The  only  school  incorporated  during  the  ante-bellum  period,  which 
indicated  in  its  charter  that  it  was  specifically  vocational,  was  the 
Chulahoma  College  and  Commercial  Institute,  which  received  its 
letters  of  incorporation  in  1839.^  The  only  indication  of  its  commercial 
purpose  in  the  charter  is  in  the  name. 

Provision  for  vocational  education  to  a  limited  extent  was  made  in 
some  of  the  higher  institutions  of  learning,  notably  in  the  state  university. 
In  1850,  two  years  after  the  opening  of  the  university,  the  legislature 
by  special  enactment  created  at  the  university  a  department  of  ''agri- 
cultural and  geological  science,"  with  a  professor  and  an  assistant 
professor  in  charge.  An  appropriation  of  $6,000  a  year  was  voted  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  department.  In  addition  to  his  work  as  an 
instructor,  the  head  of  the  department  was  required  to  make  a  general 
geological  and  agricultural  survey  of  the  state,  for  which  half  of  the 
appropriation  was  to  be  used.^  In  1852  the  geological  work  was  sepa- 
rated from  the  department,  and  the  name  of  the  latter  was  changed 
to  "agricultural  and  zoological  science."^  The  ''state  geologist" 
continued  the  work  upon  the  survey  of  the  state,  and  reports  of  surveys 
were  published  by  the  state  in  1854  and  1857.4 

The  project  for  establishing  schools  of  law  and  medicine  at  Natchez 
in  connection  with  Jefferson  College  has  been  mentioned  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  that  college  in  the  preceding  chapter.  No  other  attempt  to 
provide  for  medical  training  appears  to  have  been  made  in  the  state. 
In  1854  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Mississippi  had  its 
origin  in  the  creation  by  special  act  of  the  legislature  of  a  "Professorship 
of  Governmental  Science  and  Law."  An  appropriation  of  $2,000  a 
year  was  made  to  pay  the  salary  of  the  professor,  whom  the  trustees 


1821  Natchez  had  a  private  evening  school  which  laid  stress  upon  the  "practical' 'side 
of  education,  as  is  indicated  by  the  following  advertisement,  which  appeared  in  the 
Natchez  State  Gazette,  January  6,  182 1: 

EVENING  SCHOOL 
Mr.  Howard  will  commence  an  evening  school  for  the  season  on 
Tuesday  next  at  6  o'clock.  In  addition  to  the  usual  branches 
he  will  instruct  young  men  in  Geometry,  Civil  and  Military 
Architecture,  Gunnery,  Surveying,  Topography,  and  Book- 
keeping. 
Terms  from  $5  to  $20  a  month. 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1839,  pp.  227-29. 

^Ihid.,  1850,  p.  127. 

3  Ihid.,  1852,  pp.  189-90.  "  Ihid.,  1854,  pp.  148-50;   1857,  pp.  1 13-14. 


LEGISLATION  FOR  SPECIAL  CLASSES  AND  PURPOSES  99 

were  authorized  to  employ.^  By  i860  the  department  had  developed 
to  the  place  where  an  additional  professor  was  needed,  and  a  second 
chair  was  established  with  the  same  appropriation  for  salary  as  made 

for  the  first.'' 

One  of  the  vocations  for  which  many  state  officials  urged  the  necessity 
of  providing  definite  training  was  that  of  teaching,  but  the  provision 
was  never  made.  In  1848,  at  the  urgent  recommendation  of  Governor 
Brown,  the  legislature  turned  its  attention  to  the  question  of  establishing 
a  normal  school,^  and  the  House  of  Representatives  appointed  a  special 
committee  on  normal  schools.  This  committee  reported  a  bill  entitled, 
''an  act  to  establish  a  State  Normal  School."  The  House  ordered 
five  hundred  copies  of  the  bill  printed,  laid  the  report  and  the  bill  on  the 
table,  and  gave  it  no  further  consideration. ^ 

In  1850  the  matter  was  again  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  legis- 
lature by  the  general  school  commissioner,5  who  asserted  that  many 
counties  were  unable  to  secure  competent  teachers.  The  state  was 
forced  to  look  to  other  sections  of  the  nation  and  to  other  countries 
for  teachers,  he  said,  and  "to  overlook  their  foreign  accent  and  stupid 
vulgarity,  or  be  entirely  deprived  of  school  privileges."^  This  plea, 
however,  was  ineffectual,  as  was  also  Governor  McWillie's  recommenda- 
tion in  1838  for  "a  state  normal  for  females."^ 

MILITARY  TRAINING 

Reference  has  been  made  in  the  chapter  on  higher  education  to  the 
reorganization  of  Jefferson  College  in  1829  upon  a  military  basis  some- 
what similar  to  the  academy  at  West  Point.  There  was  quite  a  different 
movement  for  military  training  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  later 
that  apparently  had  its  inspiration  in  the  growing  probability  of  war 
between  the  sections  of  the  Union.  The  Revised  Code  of  1857  contained 
a  provision  for  a  military  school  fund,  which  was  to  be  appropriated 
to  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  ''one  or  more  military  schools 
m  the  state."«  For  the  benefit  of  this  fund  a  poll  tax  of  fifty  cents  was 
levied  upon  each  able-bodied  free  white  male  citizen  over  eighteen  years 
and  under  forty-five  years  of  age,  and  also  a  property  tax  equal  to  one- 
fortieth  part  of  the  general  state  tax,  which  was  to  be  called  ''  the  mihtary 

^  Ihid.,  1854,  p.  160.  5  See  pp.  42-43- 

» Ihid.,  1859-60,  pp.  238-39.  ^  Senate  Journal,  1850,  p.  154. 

3  House  Journal,  1848,  p.  26.  ^  House  Journal,  1858,  p.  23. 

4  Ihid.,  p.  506.  ^  Revised  Code  of  1857,  p.  266. 


lOO         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

school  tax."^  This  act  was  repealed  in  1858,^  but  the  plan  to  estabUsh  a 
military  school  was  not  completely  abandoned.  On  February  11,  i860, 
the  Brandon  State  Military  Institute  was  incorporated  with  the  avowed 
purpose  of  providing  mstruction  for  ''the  youth  in  the  various  branches 
of  literature,  sciences,  and  arts,  and  to  a  thorough  military  discipline." 
The  governor  and  his  successors  in  office  were  made  members  of  the 
board  of  trustees,  which  was  otherwise  self-perpetuating„  The  act  of 
incorporation  authorized  the  governor  to  lend  firearms  to  the  institution, 
but  made  no  other  provision  for  its  assistance.  Before  the  institution 
could  get  under  way,  however,  the  youth  of  the  state  were  receiving 
their  mihtary  mstruction  in  the  camps  and  on  the  fields  of  battle. 

EDUCATION  OF  DEFECTIVES 

The  blind. — The  Mississippi  Institution  for  the  Blind  grew  out  of 
the  efforts  of  Rev.  James  ChampHn,  of  Sharon,  who  had  been  engaged 
in  the  instruction  of  a  few  blind  pupils  in  his  home  town  prior  to  1846. 
In  that  year  he  visited  Jackson  with  one  of  his  students,  in  the  hope  of 
interesting  the  legislature  in  the  establishment  of  a  state  institution  for 
the  blind. 

According  to  Mr.  Champlin's  statement  two  years  later,  he  received 
encouragement  from  individual  members  of  the  legislature,  but  owing 
to  the  little  attention  which  the  public  had  given  the  subject  it  was 
thought  best  to  defer  the  matter  until  the  next  session  of  the  legislature. 
In  the  meantime,  upon  the  advice  of  those  favorable  to  the  institution, 
Mr.  Champlin  established  a  small  private  school  for  the  blind  in  Jackson 
in  the  spring  of  1847,^  and  employed  P.  Lane,  a  graduate  of  the  New 
York  Institute  for  the  Blind,  as  an  instructor.  Leaving  the  school  in 
the  care  of  his  assistant,  Mr.  Champlin  canvassed  the  state,  visiting 
the  blind  throughout  its  borders,  solicitmg  funds  for  the  support  of  the 
establishment  he  had  set  up,  and  securing  signatures  to  petitions  praying 
the  legislature  to  provide  for  the  education  of  the  bhnd  at  its  next 
session.'' 

When  the  legislature  assembled  in  1848,  Governor  Brown  submitted 
a  report  from  Mr.  Champlin  upon  his  work  for  the  blind  with  a  recom- 
mendation that  the  state  assume  responsibility  for  the  work.s  The 
legislature  responded  with  ''an  act  to  aid  in  the  estabhshment  of  an 
institution  for  the  instruction  of  the  bhnd."^    The  act  required  the 

'  Revised  Code  of  1857,  p.  265.  ^  Ibid. 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1858,  p.  74.  s  Ibid.,  p.  23. 

3  House  Journal,  1848,  pp.  43-44.  ^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1848,  pp.  153-55. 


LEGISLATION  FOR  SPECIAL  CLASSES  AND  PURPOSES  loi 

governor  to  appoint  at  once  a  board  of  trustees  for  the  institution,  whose 
term  of  service  was  fixed  at  two  years.  The  trustees  were  empowered 
to  receive  contributions  from  the  state  and  from  benevolent  individuals. 
An  appropriation  of  $2,500  for  the  year  1848  and  an  annual  appropria- 
tion of  $1,000  for  successive  years  were  contained  in  the  same  act. 
The  trustees  were  authorized  to  purchase,  contract  for,  or  erect  a  building 
for  the  school,  appoint  the  principal  and  teachers,  and  fix  the  salaries. 
Pupils  were  admitted  free  upon  a  certificate  from  their  county  probate 
clerk  asserting  that  they  were  of  good  moral  character  and  were  unable 
to  pay  the  expenses  of  an  education.  Pupils  who  paid  tuition  fees  were 
required  to  have  certificates  as  to  character  only. 

The  annual  appropriation  for  the  institution  was  increased  in 
1850  to  $2,500,  payable  quarterly  in  advance  upon  the  requisition  of 
the  trustees.  At  the  same  time  a  special  appropriation  of  $900  was 
made  to  pay  the  balance  of  the  purchase  money  for  the  lot  on  which  the 
institution  was  located.' 

Two  years  later  a  further  appropriation  was  authorized  to  meet  the 
growing  needs  of  the  school,  the  size  of  the  appropriation  made  to  depend 
upon  the  number  of  pupils.  The  act  provided  that  for  each  free  student 
above  ten  there  should  be  added  to  the  annual  appropriation  of  $2,500 
the  sum  of  $200.  This  act  also  contained  a  special  appropriation  of 
$200  for  the  purchase  of  a  lot  adjoining  the  institution.^ 

In  1854  provision  was  made  for  an  adequate  and  permanent  building 
for  the  institution  for  the  blind.  Congress  had  made  an  appropriation 
in  1841  of  10  per  cent  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  pubUc  lands  to  the 
states  in  whose  borders  the  lands  lay,  and  had  placed  a  sum  of  money 
to  the  credit  of  Mississippi  for  lands  sold  within  her  borders.^  Mississippi 
had  never  recognized  the  right  of  Congress  to  distribute  the  proceeds  of 
public  land  sales  to  the  states,  and  had  declined  to  claim  her  share 
of  the  distribution.  After  allowing  the  money  to  accumulate  in  the 
United  States  treasury  for  thirteen  years,  the  state  now  came  forward 
through  her  legislature  and  virtually  said,  ''You  haven't  any  right  to 
give  it  to  us,  but  if  you  insist,  we  will  take  it  and  give  it  to  charity. "■» 
The  state  treasurer  was  accordingly  authorized  to  receive  the  money  and 
to  receipt  for  it.     The  amount  was  then  ordered  divided  equally  between 

'  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850,  p.  118. 
^  Ibid.,  1852,  pp.  92-93- 

3  United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  V,  453- 

4  Sec.  7  of  the  act  specifically  states  that  the  legislature  does  not  sanction  the 
constitutionality  of  the  act  of  Congress.     Laws  of  Mississippi,  1854,  p.  97- 


I02         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

the  schools  for  the  bHnd  and  for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  to  be  used  for  the 
erection  of  suitable  buildings  for  these  institutions.^  The  trustees  were 
required  to  erect  the  buildings  of  both  schools  in  "a  neat  and  substantial 
manner,  with  a  view  to  comfort  and  convenience,  instead  of  show."^ 

Two  other  bills  were  passed  by  the  legislature  of  1854  in  the  interest 
of  the  BHnd  Institute.  One  of  these  appropriated  $1,000  to  purchase  a 
lot  adjoining  the  institution,^  and  the  other  gave  the  superintendent  of 
the  school  free  use  of  the  state  Ubrary  for  his  pupils.^ 

Special  appropriations  amounting  to  $2,000  were  made  for  the 
school  in  1856  in  addition  to  the  regular  annual  appropriation.  These 
special  appropriations  were  for  repairing  the  building,  purchasing  a 
piano,  other  musical  instruments,  and  necessary  furniture,  and  for 
''sustaining  the  musical  and  mechanical  departments"  of  the  institution. 
The  same  act  also  required  the  boards  of  police  of  the  several  counties 
of  the  state  to  furnish  the  president  of  the  institute  the  names  and 
addresses  of  all  blind  persons  in  their  respective  counties,  and  to  pro\ide 
means  necessary  to  meet  the  expenses  of  any  who  were  found  eligible 
for  the  institute,  but  were  unable  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  trip  and  to 
provide  suitable  clothing.^ 

At  an  adjourned  session  of  the  legislature  during  the  latter  part  of 
1856  and  early  months  of  the  following  year  all  the  legislation  upon  the 
organization  and  management  of  the  institution  for  the  blind  was 
superseded  by  a  new  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  estabHsh  an  institution 
for  the  education  of  the  blind."  The  new  act  made  the  board  of  trustees, 
who  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor  and  to  serve  for  two  years,  a 
corporate  body,  with  all  the  usual  legal  powers  of  such  incorporations. 
The  principal  change  mvolved  in  the  new  act  was  the  abandonment  of 
the  policy  of  a  standing  annual  appropriation  and  the  substitution  of 
the  plan  of  special  appropriations  to  cover  the  needs  of  the  institution 
from  one  session  of  the  legislature  to  the  next.  For  the  year  1857 
the  appropriation  was  fixed  at  $7,000,  which  was  to  be  used  for  supplying 
the  institution  with  food,  clothing,  fuel  lights,  furniture,  books,  maps, 
musical  instruments,  other  means  of  instruction,  materials  and  tools 
for  the  manufactures  by  the  students;  also  for  the  compensation  of  the 
principal,  assistant  teachers,  matron,  and  for  incidental  expenses.^ 

»  The  total  sum  amounted  to  about  $14,000. 

»  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1854,  pp.  95~97- 

3  Ibid.,  p.  135.  4  Ibid.,  pp.  589-90.  s  Ibid.,  1856,  pp.  343- 

^  Ibid.,  1856-57  (Adjourned  Session),  pp.  116-18. 


LEGISLATION  FOR  SPECIAL  CLASSES  AND  PURPOSES  103 

The  appropriation  carried  in  the  act  just  discussed  apparently  was 
more  than  sufficient  for  the  purposes  named  for  the  year.  When  the 
legislature  met  in  regular  session  in  the  following  November,  it  voted 
an  appropriation  of  $4,000  per  annum  for  the  next  two  years,  with  the 
provision  that  the  unused  portion  of  the  former  appropriation  should 
revert  to  the  general  fund  in  the  state  treasury.^  In  1859  the  appropria- 
tion for  current  expenses  for  the  ensuing  two  years  was  raised  to  $6,000 
per  annum.2 

The  deaf  and  dumb. — Mississippi's  school  for  the  deaf  and  dumb  had 
its  beginning  as  a  branch  of  the  Blind  Institute  under  the  act  of  March  i' 
1854,  entitled,  "an  act  to  provide  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings 
for  the  instruction  of  the  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind,  and  for  other  purposes." 
This  act  required  the  trustees  of  the  Blind  Institute  to  use  one-half 
the  money,  which  had  been  placed  to  the  credit  of  Mississippi  under  the 
act  of  Congress  of  September  4,  1841,  from  the  sale  of  public  lands  within 
her  border,  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings  for  a  school  for  the 
deaf  and  dumb.  The  trustees  of  the  Blind  Institute  were  given  full 
control  over  the  proposed  school,  and  were  voted  an  appropriation  of 
$2,000  with  which  to  pay  the  teachers  and  support  the  indigent  pupils 
who  might  enter  the  institution.^  The  trustees  purchased  the  property 
of  the  Cleaver  Female  Institute,  located  in  the  central  portion  of  Jackson, 
and  opened  the  school  there.^ 

The  management  of  the  new  institution  was  taken  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  trustees  of  the  Blind  Institute  in  1856,  and  placed  under  the 
control  of  its  own  board  of  five  members,  appointed  by  the  governor.^ 
During  the  following  year  the  legislature  passed  an  act  of  incorporation 
for  the  institution  for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  which  was  parallel  in  all 
respects  to  the  act  passed  at  the  same  time  for  the  Blind  Institute, 
including  the  appropriation  of  $7,000.^  The  trustees  were  authorized  to 
exchange  the  property  then  used  for  the  school  for  the  property  of 
St.  Andrews'  College,  and  an  additional  appropriation  of  $5,000  was 
made  to  pay  the  difference  in  the  value  of  the  property  and  to  complete 
the  buildings  and  fences  and  provide  for  equipment. 

The  state's  policy  with  reference  to  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Institution 
was  for  the  first  few  years  to  provide  all  expenses  for  pupils  who  were 

'  Ibid.,  1857,  p.  42.  2  Ibid.,  1859,  p.  192.  3  Ibid.,  1854,  pp.  95-96. 

*  Rowland,  Encyclopedia  of  Mississippi  History,  I,  637. 

5  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1856,  p.  343. 

^  Ibid.,  1856-57  (Adjourned  Session),  pp.  1 14-16. 


I04         EDUCATION.\L  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

not  able  to  provide  for  themselves,  but  those  who  were  able  to  do  so 
were  to  pay  tuition  and  board.  The  acts  of  appropriation  hst  in  rather 
full  detail  the  items  of  expense  for  which  the  state  made  provision. 
They  include  food,  clothing,  medicine,  service  of  physician,  books, 
slates,  globes,  maps,  bedding,  and  incidentals.'  The  distinction  between 
the  indigent  and  those  who  were  able  to  pay  was  removed  in  1857  by 
a  proxdsion  in  an  act  of  that  year  that  "hereafter  the  benefit  of  this 
institution  be  free  to  all  deaf  and  dumb  pupils  resident  of  this  state, 
of  good  moral  character."^  The  state  provided  also,  beginning  in 
November,  1858,  for  the  payment  of  the  traveling  expenses  to  Jackson 
of  all  deaf  and  dumb  children  not  in  the  institution  who  were  entitled 
to  its  benefits.' 

For  the  current  expenses  of  the  institution  an  annual  appropriation 
of  $6,000  was  made  in  1857  for  the  succeeding  years."*  In  i860  the 
amount  was  raised  to  $9,600.^  In  addition  to  the  annual  appropriation 
for  general  expenses  there  were  a  few  small  appropriations  for  special 
purposes. 

Cabinet  work  and  carpentry  for  boys  and  millinery  for  girls  were 
added  to  the  curriculum  in  i860.  The  sum  of  $500  per  annum  was 
appropriated  for  the  boys'  shop,  which  was  to  be  supplemented  by  the 
proceeds  obtained  for  the  products  of  the  shop.  For  the  female  pupils 
the  appropriation  was  $100  per  annum,  which  was  to  be  used  to  employ 
a  milliner  to  visit  the  institution  and  instruct  the  pupils.^ 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1857,  p.  40;   1859-60,  p.  531. 
'Ibid.,  1857,  p.  41. 

3  Ibid.,  1858,  p.  230. 

4  Ibid.,  1857,  pp.  40-41.  5  Ibid.,  1859-60,  pp.  531-33-  ^  -^^'^- 


CHAPTER  IX 

SUPPLEMENTARY  EDUCATIONAL  AGENCIES 
LIBRARIES 

State  library.— The  Mississippi  State  Library  has  been  gradually 
developed  as  the  result  of  a  series  of  legislative  enactments  beginning 
two  years  before  the  close  of  the  territorial  period.  In  an  act  approved 
November  29,  1815,  the  legislature  "requested"  the  secretary  of  the 
territory  to  procure  "a  complete  set  of  the  acts  of  Congress  of  the 
United  States  of  the  Union,  together  with  a  Digest  of  laws  of  the  several 
states  of  the  Union,  also  three  of  the  most  approved  Dictionaries  of  the 
Enghsh  Language,  a  Bible,  Jacob's  Law  Dictionary  (American  edition), 
Smith's  Wealth  of  Nations,  Montesquieu's  The  Spirit  of  Laws,  Vattele's 
The  Law  of  Nations,  Tucker's  Blackstone,  the  book  called  The  Constitu- 
tions of  the  Several  States,  and  the  work  called  The  Federalist,  for  the 
use  of  the  legislature  of  this  territory."^  A  year  later  the  legislature 
passed  a  resolution  entrusting  the  little  Hbrary  that  had  been  secured 
to  the  secretary  of  the  territory  during  the  recesses  of  the  legisla- 
ture.^ 

In  taking  over  the  books  collected  during  the  territorial  period, 
the  first  general  assembly  of  the  state  authorized  the  secretary  of  state 
to  purchase  such  books  as  the  secretary  of  the  territory  was  required  to 
purchase,  and  also  to  buy  copies  of  a  certain  map  of  the  United  States, 
of  the  state  of  Louisiana,  of  the  world,  and  of  the  state  of  :\Iississippi.^ 

With  the  books  purchased  from  year  to  year  under  this  act  as  a 
nucleus,  the  legislature  twenty  years  later  established  the  state  library. 
The  latter  act  was  entitled,  ''An  act  to  provide  for  a  State  Library," 
and  was  approved  by  the  governor  on  February  15,  1838.  An  initial 
appropriation  of  $3,000  was  made  for  the  library,  and  provision  for  its 
gradual  enlargement  was  made  by  an  annual  appropriation  of  Si, 000. 
There  was  also  an  allowance  of  $500  per  annum  for  contingent  expenses. 
The  library  was  placed  under  the  control  of  a  board  of  trustees  con- 
sisting of  the  governor,  the  judges  of  the  high  court  of  errors  and  appeals, 

'  Digest,  1816,  p.  289. 

2  Statutes  of  Mississippi  Territory,  18 16,  Mississippi  State  Archives,  Series  D, 
No.  II. 

3  Mississippi  State  Archives,  Series  I,  No.  i. 


io6         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

the  chancellor  of  the  superior  court  of  chancery,  the  secretary  of  state, 
the  auditor,  and  the  attorney-general' 

In  1846  provision  was  made  for  the  interchange  of  laws,  reports,  and 
legislative  documents  with  other  states  of  the  Union  for  the  benefit  of 
the  library.  There  was  also  a  special  appropriation  of  $2,000  allowed 
in  the  same  act  for  debts  due  by  the  state  for  the  library.^ 

An  act  ''for  the  better  regulation  of  the  state  library,"  passed  in 
1848,  provided  that  only  one-fifth  of  the  annual  appropriation  should 
be  expended  for  law  books,  and  the  balance  for  "such  political,  historical, 
scientific,  philosophical,  and  miscellaneous  books,  manuscripts,  maps, 
etc.,"  as  the  trustees  should  think  proper.^ 

Library  societies. — The  number  of  incorporated  libraries  in  the  state 
prior  to  i860  was  small.  The  fact  that  there  were  few  towns  and  no 
cities  in  the  state  before  the  Civil  War  and  that  the  rural  population 
was  sparse  made  it  difficult  for  a  pubHc  library  to  serve  acceptably  a 
sufiScient  constituency  to  justify  its  maintenance.^  Of  the  fourteen 
charters  granted  by  the  legislature  to  Ubrary  societies  about  one-half  of 
them  mdicate  by  their  names  that  they  hoped  to  serve  an  entire  county. 
Another  possible  explanation  of  the  brevity  of  the  Hst  is  that  it  may 
be  incomplete.  From  1848  to  1857  library  associations  and  other  speci- 
fied organizations  were  permitted  to  secure  charters  through  the  clerks 
of  the  county  probate  courts.^  The  records  of  such  charters,  if  any  were 
secured  in  this  way,  were  kept  in  the  county  court-houses  of  the  respective 
counties,  and  in  many  counties  have  been  lost  or  destroyed  by  fires- 
It  is  likely,  however,  that  few,  if  any,  libraries  were  incorporated  by  the 
probate  clerks,  for  the  incorporation  of  libraries,  it  appears,  had  ceased 
seven  years  before  the  passage  of  the  act  conferring  this  power  upon  the 
county  officials.  The  last  library  association  to  receive  a  charter  from 
the  legislature  was  incorporated  in  1841.^  Furthermore,  from  1857  to 
^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1838,  pp.  165-66. 
'  Ihid.,  1846,  p.  183. 

^Ihid.,  1848,  pp.  148-51.  A  catalogue  of  the  State  Library  fills  fifty-four 
pages  in  the  Senate  Journal  of  1856.  Thirty-one  pages  are  devoted  to  listing 
books  on  law,  and  the  remainder  is  divided  among  the  following  classifications: 
Medical;  Politics  and  PoHtical  Economy;  History;  Biography;  Geography;  Voyages 
and  Travels;  Natural  History;  Agriculture  and  Horticulture;  Arts  and  Sciences; 
PoUte  Literature;  Theolog>'  and  Ecclesiastical  History;  Phrenology,  Education, 
and  Criticism;  Miscellaneous;  Maps;  Pamphlets  and  Manuscripts. 
4  See  chap,  i,  pp.  3-6. 

s  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1848,  pp.  103-4.     See  also  p.  64  of  this  study. 
6  Ibid.,  1841,  pp.  287-88. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  EDUCATIONAL  AGENCIES  107 

i860,  when  the  power  of  incorporation  had  been  taken  from  the  probate 
clerks  and  given  to  the  governor,  no  charters  were  granted  for  libraries.^ 

Most  of  the  societies  controUing  Kbraries  were  also  Hterary  or 
debating  societies.  As  a  rule  they  were  permitted  to  own  property  to 
the  amount  of  $30,000,  two- thirds  of  which  had  to  be  personal  property. 
In  some  instances  the  limit  was  placed  at  smaller  figures. 

In  the  following  list  the  names  of  all  the  library  associations  incor- 
porated by  legislative  enactment  are  given,  with  the  name  of  the  county 
in  which  each  was  located  and  the  year  of  incorporation. 

Library  Societies  Incorporated  by  Legislative  Enactment 

Jacksonian  Library  Society,  Wilkinson* 181 5 

Franklin  Debating  and  Library  Society,  Wilkinson 1818 

Franklin  Debating  and  Library  Society  (new  charter) 1819 

Mississippi  Literary  and  Library  Company  of  Gibson  Port,  Claiborne.  .    1818 

Library  Society  of  Greene  County,  Greene 1818 

Liberty  Debating  and  Library  Society,  Amite 1820 

Pike  Library  Society,  Pike 1821 

Franklin  Library  Society,  Franklin 1828 

Brandon  Library  Society,  Rankin 1830 

Meridian  Springs  Library  Society,  Hinds 183 1 

Amite  Library  and  Debating  Society,  Amite 1839 

Amite  Library  and  Debating  Society  (rechartered  with  higher  property 

hmit),  Amite 1840 

Franklin  Library  and  Debating  Society,  Franklin 1840 

Yazoo  Library  Association,  Yazoo 1840 

Tchula  Library  and  Debating  Society,  Holmes 1S40 

Holly  Springs  Library  and  Debating  Society,  Marshall 1S41 

*  Incorporated  in  sec.  4  of  the  act  to  incorporate  Wilkinson  Academy.  Ms.  laws,  Territorial 
Archives,  Series  D,  No.  10. 

SOCIETIES  FOR  THE  EDUCATION  OF  YOUTH 

There  were  three  charters  granted  to  societies  in  Mississippi  which 
had  for  their  purpose  the  assistance  of  the  youth  of  the  state  in  secur- 
ing an  education.  The  earliest  of  these  was  the  Harmony  Society  of 
Jefferson  County,  incorporated  in  1823.  Its  purpose,  as  declared  in  its 
charter,  was  the  promotion  of  "piety,  morality,  and  the  education  of 
the  youth  of  Jefferson  County."''  A  similar  society,  the  Yazoo  Edu- 
cational Association,  was  incorporated  in  i860.  Its  purpose  was  stated 
in  the  charter  to  be  ''the  education  of  the  boys  of  Yazoo  County." 

^  The  charters  granted  by  the  governor  are  preserved  in  the  original  record  book 
in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state. 

2  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1822-23,  PP-  76-77. 


lo8         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

It  was  permitted  to  own  property  to  the  amount  of  $50,000.'  In  1859 
there  was  incorporated  the  Ministerial  Educational  Society  for  the 
education  of  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  The  society 
was  under  the  supervision  of  the  Mississippi  conference.  It  proposed 
to  raise  funds  by  an  annual  membership  fee  of  fifty  cents,  the  proceeds 
from  which  were  to  be  lent  or  invested  and  the  interest,  only,  to  be  used, 
until  the  total  funds  should  amount  to  the  property  limit  of  $50,000.^ 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Several  other  societies  were  incorporated  in  Mississippi  for  purposes 
either  directly  or  indirectly  related  to  the  education  of  the  citizenship 
of  the  state.     The  list  of  these  societies  is  as  follows: 
Mississippi  Society  for  the  Acquirement  and  Dissemination  of  Useful 

Knowledge 1803 

Natchez  Mechanical  Society 1809 

Amite  Union  Society  (for  the  acquirement  and  dissemination  of  useful 

knowledge) 1820 

Philomathean  Society 1825 

Pontotoc  Athenaeum 1^43 

Lexington  Literary  and  Debating  Society 1846 

Historical  Society  of  Mississippi 1858 

Chatawa  Lyceum  Hall  Association i860 

Phi  Chapter  of  the  Delta  Psi  Fraternity  at  Oxford i860 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  i860,  pp.  470-71. 

2  Original  Record  of  Incorporations  from  1857  to  1883,  pp.  82-83.     This  record 
book  is  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state  at  Jackson,  Miss. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE   ADMINISTRATION   AND    SUPERVISION   OF   SCHOOLS 
AND  THE  CERTIFICATION  OF  TEACHERS 

SCHOOL  CONTROL  AND  SUPERVISION 

Very  little  was  accomplished  in  Mississippi  before  i860  toward 
developing  any  efficient  system  of  control  and  supervision  of  schools. 
The  first  attempt  to  provide  for  supervision  was  made  in  182 1.  The 
county  school  commissioners,  whose  prime  duty  was  to  supervise  the 
education  of  poor  children  at  the  expense  of  the  Literary  Fund/  were 
required  to  appoint  a  committee  from  their  body  to  visit  all  seminaries  of 
learning,  academies,  and  common  schools  within  their  respective  counties, 
''to  examine  into  the  qualifications  of  the  teachers  or  school  masters  to 
educate  their  pupils  in  the  branches  of  learning  taught  in  such  schools, 
and  also  their  character  for  morality  and  sobriety;  the  discipline  and 
order  observed  in  their  schools;  the  number  of  scholars,  and  how  far 
advanced  in  education;  and  to  report  the  same  to  president  and 
directors  of  the  Literary  Fund."^  This  provision  of  the  Literary  Fund 
act  remained  upon  the  statutes  until  the  passage  of  the  common  school 
act  in  1846. 

The  weakness  of  this  act  as  it  relates  to  supervision  is  readily  seen. 
No  provision  was  made  to  compel  the  county  commissioners  or  their 
committee  of  visitors  to  perform  the  duties  assigned,  or  to  pay  them  for 
their  services.  Moreover,  they  had  no  authority  over  the  schools  or 
teachers  of  the  schools  they  were  required  to  visit.  In  the  case  of 
academies  and  colleges  the  boards  of  trustees  were  supreme;  in  the 
common  schools  all  real  power  was  conferred  upon  the  township  trustees. 
Apparently  the  only  recourse  the  county  commissioners  had,  when  they 
did  not  approve  a  school,  was  to  refuse  to  allow  any  of  the  poor  children 
educated  under  their  supervision  to  attend  that  school. 

The  authority  of  the  township  trustees  over  the  common  schools 
was  conferred  by  the  act  of  January  9,  1824.^  This  act  gave  the  trustees 
complete  control  over  the  schools  of  their  respective  townships  with 
the  power  to  locate  the  schools,  to  employ  and  discharge  teachers,  to 

'  An  interpretation  of  this  act  as  a  whole  may  be  found  on  pp.  27-29. 
'  Sec.  13  of  the  act,  Laws  of  Mississippi,  182 1,  pp.  37-44. 
3  See  p.  30  for  the  interpretation  of  this  act. 


no  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

make  all  such  rules  and  regulations  as  they  might  deem  expedient 
''not  contrary  to  law,  nor  to  the  equal  privileges  of  the  resident  heads 
of  famines."  These  trustees  also  were  given  complete  control  of  school 
lands  and  township  school  funds,  and  were  authorized  to  pay  teachers' 
salaries  ''in  whole  or  in  part  out  of  any  money  in  their  treasurer's  hands. "^ 

For  twenty-two  years  the  supreme  authority  of  the  township  trustees 
over  the  schools  of  their  respective  townships  was  unquestioned.  But 
when  the  common  school  system  of  1846  was  adopted,  it  took  from 
the  trustees  the  greater  part  of  their  power.  They  retained  the  right 
to  employ  and  to  discharge  teachers  and  to  make  regulations  for  the 
government  of  the  schools,  but  control  of  the  school  lands  and  school 
funds,  the  power  to  locate  schools,  to  determine  the  qualifications  of 
teachers,  make  contracts  with  them,  and  pay  salaries,  in  whole  or  in 
part,  and  to  have  "the  general  superintendence"  of  the  common  schools 
was  given  to  the  county  boards  of  school  commissioners  created  by  the 
act  of  1846.' 

In  an  effort  to  give  greater  uniformity  to  the  school  work  of  the 
state,  the  act  of  1846  made  the  secretary  of  state  ex  officio  head  of  the 
school  system  with  the  title  of  general  school  commissioner.  His 
duties,  however,  were  chiefly  clerical,  and  he  had  no  real  power.  Twice 
in  each  year,  in  June  and  December,  the  county  commissioners  of 
education  were  required  to  make  a  report  to  him  showing  for  their 
respective  counties  "the  situation  of  schools  and  school  funds;  the 
number  of  scholars  attending  schools;  the  number  of  teachers;  and  the 
amount  paid  to  teachers  out  of  the  sixteenth  section  fund,  the  common 
school  fund,  and  by  private  individuals. "^  The  general  school  com- 
missioner was  required  to  preserve  the  reports  of  the  county  commis- 
sioners and  to  publish  in  January  and  July  abstracts  summarizing  the 
educational  work  of  the  state  as  a  whole.  For  these  services  he  was 
allowed  $500  a  year  in  addition  to  his  salary  as  secretary  of  state.4 

When  the  school  system  of  1846  went  to  pieces,^  the  counties  of  the 
state   adopted  various   plans   of   control   and   supervision,   individual 

'Laws  of  Mississippi,  1824,  pp.  9-12. 

^-See  pp.  42-44.  3  Sec.  15  of  act,  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1846,  pp.  98-104. 

4  Sec.  16  of  act.  When  the  legislature  assembled  in  1848  the  general  school 
commissioner  made  a  report  in  which  he  explained  why  he  had  not  published  the 
semiannual  abstracts  required  by  law.  Only  a  very  few  of  the  county  commissioners 
had  made  reports  to  him.  He  called  the  attention  of  the  legislature  to  the  fact  that 
there  was  no  means  of  compelHng  the  county  commissioners  to  report.  House  Journal, 
1848,  pp.  1030-36. 

s  See  pp.  46-48. 


ADMINISTRATION  AND  SUPERVISION  OF  SCHOOLS 


III 


counties  often  trying  several  plans  during  the  twelve  years  from  1848 
to  i860.  The  majority  of  the  counties,  however,  for  at  least  a  part 
of  the  time,  continued  under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  1846,  except 

TABLE  IX* 

Counties  in  Which  County  Commissioners  of  Education  Were  Empowered  to 

Control  and  Supervise  Schools 


Counties 


Adams 

Attala 

Carroll 

Calhoun 

Chickasaw . . 
Choctaw.  .  . 

Clarke 

Coahoma. . . 

Copiah 

De  Soto.... 
Franklin.  .  . 

Greene 

Hancock.  .  . 
Harrison.  .  . 
Issaquena.  . 
Itawamba.  , 
Jackson .  .  .  , 
Jasper.  ... 

Jones 

Lafayette . . 
Lauderdale . 


Period 


1848- 
1848-50 
1858- 
1852- 
1848- 
1848-60 
1848-52  ;i86o- 


-56 


-58 
-54 


52 
i848-54;i856- 

1848- 
1848-52 ;i86o- 

1848-54 

1848- 

1848-50 


Counties 


Leake 

Marion 

Marshall .  .  .  . 

Monroe 

Oktibbeha . . . 

Panola 

Perry 

Pike 

Pontotoc.  .  .  , 

Rankin 

Simpson .... 

Smith 

Tallahatchie . 

Tippah 

Tishomingo . 
Washington . 
Warren.  .  .  . 

Wayne 

Yalobusha . . 
Yazoo 


Period 


848- 


5-50 


848- 


-58 

-60 

5-50 
5-50 
■58 


858- 
848- 

i848-54;i856- 
848-50 
848-50 
848- 
856- 
848- 


*  Where  only  one  date  is  given  in  Tables  IX-XIV  the  act  continued  in  force  beyond  the  period 
covered  in  this  study. 

TABLE  X 

Counties   Which   Returned   to   Township    Control   Without   :Modification 

FROM    1848    to    i860 


Counties 

Attala 

BoUvar 

Carroll 

Choctaw .  : 

Claiborne 

Clarke 

Coahoma 

Covington 

Franklin 

Hinds 

Holmes 

Issaquena 

Itawamba 

Jasper 

Kemper 

Lauderdale 


Period 


1850- 

1848- 

1848-58 

1860- 

1848- 

1852-60 

1856- 

1848- 

1856- 

1850- 

1850- 

1852- 

1858- 

1852- 

1848- 

i85c^ 


Counties 

Lowndes 

Madison 

Monroe 

Neshoba 

Newton 

Noxubee 

Rankin 

Scott 

Simpson 

Smith 

Sunflower 

Tallahatchie .  .  . 

Warren 

Winston 

Yalobusha 


Period 


l«48- 
1848- 

1848- 

1848- 

1848- 

1850- 

1848-50 

1856- 

1858- 

1848- 

1848-58 

1850- 

1848- 

1848-56 


112         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 


TABLE  XI 

Counties  in  Which  Schools  Were  Controlled  by  Township  Trustees  and 
Visited  and  Supervised  by  County  Superintendents 


Counties 

Period 

Counties 

Period 

Amite 

1848-50 
1848-50 
1848-50 
1848- 

Lawrence 

1848-50 

Hinds 

*Pike 

1860- 

Tunica 

1848- 

Wilkinson 

1848- 

*  The  county  superintendent  in  Pike  County  divided  authority  with  the  township  trustees,  taking 
over  the  powers  usually  given  to  county  commissioners  of  education. 

TABLE  XII 

Counties  in  Which  Schools  Were  Controlled  by  Township  Trustees  and 
Teachers'  Institutes  Were  Held  by  County  Superintentjents 


Counties 

Period 

Counties 

Period 

1854-56 

Tishomingo 

1854-56 

TABLE  XIII 

Counties  in  Which  Schools  Were  Controlled  by  County  Boards  of  Police 


Counties 

Period 

Counties 

Period 

Amite                                  .  . 

1850- 
i85c^ 
1850-56 

Scott 

1850- 

Washington 

1850- 

Simpson 

TABLE  XIV 

Counties  in  Which  Schools  Were  Controlled  by  Separate  Boards  of  Three 
Members  for  Each  Police  District  of  the  Counties 


Counties 

Period 

Counties 

Period 

1858- 
1854- 

Jones . 
Perry . 

1854- 

Hancock                   

1858- 

that  reports  to  the  general  school  commissioner  in  some  counties  were 
not  required,  and  where  they  were  legally  required,  the  provision  was 
not  enforced.  There  was  a  marked  tendency  toward  returning  the 
control  of  schools  to  the  township  trustees,  and  by  i860  about  one-half 
of  the  counties  had  restored  the  trustees  to  all  their  old  authority. 
Seven  of  the  counties  that  returned  to  township  control  in  1848  created 


ADMINISTRATION  AND  SUPERVISION  OF  SCHOOLS  113 

the  office  of  county  superintendent,^  but  some  of  them  afterwards 
aboUshed  this  office.  In  these  counties  the  superintendent  was  required 
to  visit  each  pubhc  school  in  his  county  at  least  once  every  three  months. 
He  was  to  examine  the  record  kept  by  the  teacher  and  all  other  matters 
that  he  might  deem  important  touching  the  situation — discipline,  mode 
of  teaching,  and  improvement  thereof.  He  was  also  required  to  keep 
a  journal  of  all  such  examinations,  and  of  his  remarks  thereon,  which 
should  be  open  to  all  school  officers  of  the  school  district  concerned,  and 
to  make  a  report  thereon  annually  to  the  state  school  commissioner. 
Two  other  plans  for  control  of  schools  adopted  by  a  few  counties  were: 
(i)  the  powers  of  commissioners  were  transferred  to  the  county  boards 
of  police;  (2)  boards  of  three  trustees  or  commissioners  for  each  of  the 
five  poHce  districts  of  the  county  were  substituted  for  the  county 
commissioners. 

In  the  tables  on  pages  iii  and  112  the  method  of  control  and 
supervision  for  each  county  of  the  state  is  shown  for  the  period  from 
1848  to  i860. 

CERTIFICATION  OF  TEACHERS 

The  first  legislation  that  attempted  to  set  a  standard  for  teachers  in 
Mississippi  is  to  be  found  in  the  act  to  estabHsh  the  Literary  Fund, 
passed  in  182 1,  and  reads  as  follows: 

No  schoolmaster  shall  be  permitted  to  take  charge  of  a  seminary  of  learning 
in  this  state,  who  shall  not  produce  to  the  president  and  directors  of  the  literary 
fund,  testimonials  that  he  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  qualified  to 
teach  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages,  and  that  he  is  of  good  moral  character: 
Provided,  That  it  shall  not  be  required,  that  the  teacher  of  a  common  school 
shall  be  qualified  to  teach  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages.^ 

The  proviso  seems  to  indicate  that  the  expression,  ''seminary  of 
learning,"  is  used  in  a  broad  sense  to  include  schools  of  all  grades,  but 
that  no  literary  qualifications  were  to  be  required  of  the  teacher  of  a 
common  school.  He  needed  only  to  show  that  he  was  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  and  was  of  good  moral  character. 

In  1824  the  township  trustees  were  authorized  to  employ  "suitable 
persons"  as  teachers,  but  no  restrictions  were  placed  upon  their  judgment 
as  to  what  qualifications  made  a  person  suitable  for  such  employment, 
other  than  the  provisions  just  quoted  from  the  act  of  182 1.-' 

^  Hinds,  Holmes,  Jefferson,  Lawrence,  Tunica,  Wilkinson,  and  Amite.  See 
chap.  V,  p.  46. 

'  Sec.  13  of  act.     See  pp.  27-29. 

3  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1824,  pp.  9-12.     See  sec.  3. 


114         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

No  further  progress  was  made  toward  the  examination  and  certifica- 
tion of  teachers  until  1846.  In  that  year  the  county  commissioners  of 
education  were  required  to  Hcense  such  teachers  as  they  might  think 
''quaUfied  to  teach  the  various  branches  of  an  Enghsh  education"  in 
the  common  schools,  and  no  teacher  was  permitted  to  receive  money 
from  the  common  school  funds  without  having  secured  such  a  license.^ 

The  natural  result  of  the  disintegration  of  the  pubhc-school  system 
adopted  in  1846  was  that  some  counties  should  progress  and  others 
should  retrograde.  To  a  certain  extent  this  is  what  happened  in  the 
matter  of  certification  of  teachers.  As  a  rule  the  counties  which  returned 
to  the  plan  of  township  control  of  schools  without  county  superintendents 
ceased  to  require  that  teachers  should  be  Hcensed.^  Holmes  County  was 
a  notable  exception  to  this  rule.^  The  counties  which  retained  the 
method  of  control  provided  in  the  act  of  1846  generally  continued  the 
provisions  for  licensing  teachers,  in  most  cases,  without  change.  In 
some  counties  the  requirements  for  license  were  made  more  definite. 
The  counties  of  Amite,  Hinds,  Holmes,  Jefferson,  Lawrence,  Tunica, 
and  Washington  in  1848  put  the  duty  of  examining  teachers  upon  the 
county  superintendents,  and  specified  that  they  should  be  examined  in 
any  subjects  they  thought  themselves  qualified  to  teach,  that  the 
subjects  in  which  they  were  found  qualified  should  be  written  in  the 
Hcense,  that  teachers  should  not  be  allowed  to  teach  any  subject  not 
specified  in  their  licenses,  and  that  no  license  should  be  granted  to 
applicants  not  qualified  to  teach  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic. ^ 
Hohnes  County,  m  1850,  substituted  a  board  of  three  examiners, 
appointed  by  the  board  of  pohce,  for  the  county  superintendent  in  the 
certification  of  teachers.^  In  Carroll,  Copiah,  and  Harrison  counties 
the  subjects  upon  which  teachers  must  be  examined  were  specified  in 
1858  as  follows:  spelling,  reading,  writing,  geography,  and  English 
grammar.^  In  Tishomingo  County  after  1858  it  was  required  that  a 
teacher  "shall  be  examined  and  found  proficient  to  teach  all  the 
branches  he  had  proposed  to  teach  in  his  school,  and  which  shall  at 
least  amount  to  the  rudiments  of  an  English  education. "^ 

»  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1846,  p.  99. 

»  See  Table  X,  p.  iii. 

3  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850,  pp.  160-67,  sec.  12, 

*  Ibid.,  1848,  pp.  238-43,  sec.  16. 

5  Ibid.,  1850,  pp.  160-67,  sec.  12. 

^  Ibid.,  1858  (November),  pp.  94-99. 

7  Ibid.,  p.  211. 


CHAPTER  XI 

FEDERAL  AND  STATE  AID  TO  EDUCATION 

FEDERAL   GRANTS 

The  several  grants  of  the  federal  government  to  the  aid  of  education 
have  been  discussed  in  connection  with  the  immediate  objects  for  which 
the  grants  were  made.  In  this  chapter  it  will  be  sufficient  to  group 
together  and  briefly  summarize  the  federal  legislation  upon  this  subject. 

By  a  series  of  acts,  beginning  in  1803,  Congress  reserved  for  common 
schools  the  sixteenth  sections  of  all  townships  in  the  state,  except  in 
those  of  the  Chickasaw  cession  of  1832.^  In  the  old  Natchez  district 
and  in  the  Florida  annexation  of  181 2,  some  of  the  sixteenth  sections 
were  claimed  by  private  individuals  by  virtue  of  British  or  Spanish 
grants.  Most  of  the  townships  whose  sixteenth  sections  were  pre- 
occupied, however,  found  relief  in  the  act  of  1806,  which  permitted  any 
such  township  to  select  any  other  section  of  public  land  within  its 
borders  in  lieu  of  its  sixteenth  section,  and  if  there  were  no  other  section 
of  public  land  within  its  limits,  to  locate  a  section  for  school  purposes 
in  any  adjoining  township.^  As  a  result  of  these  several  acts  almost 
every  township  outside  of  the  Chickasaw  cession  had  its  own  school 
section,  managed  and  controlled  by  its  own  township  board  of  trustees. 

After  the  Chickasaw  cession  had  been  opened  for  settlement,  Con- 
gress, in  1836,  reserved  instead  of  the  sixteenth  sections  a  quantity  of 
land  equal  to  one  thirty-sixth  of  the  total  area  of  the  lands  ceded  by 
the  Chickasaws,  to  be  selected  by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  in  sec- 
tions, half-sections,  and  quarter-sections  from  any  unsold  public  lands 
in  the  state,  which  lands  were  to  vest  in  the  state  for  the  use  of  the 
Chickasaw  counties.^  The  selections  made  by  the  secretary  of  the 
treasury  seem  to  have  given  general  dissatisfaction,  and  the  state  failed 
to  receive  them.  In  1842,  in  response  to  a  memorial  from  the  legis- 
lature. Congress  authorized  the  governor  of  Mississippi  to  select  the 
lands  reserved  for  the  benefit  of  schools  in  the  Chickasaw  counties. ■•  The 
legislature  thereupon  authorized  the  governor  to  appoint  a  board  of 
commissioners  to  examine  the  public  lands  and  recommend  tracts  for 

'  See  chap,  iii,  pp.  25-26. 

» Ihid. 

3  United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  V,  116.  "  Ibid.,  V,  490-91. 


Il6         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

reservation/  The  lands  previously  located  by  the  secretary  of  the  treas- 
ury were  released  and  those  selections  "made  or  hereafter  to  be  made  by 
the  governor"  were  received.  These  lands  were  under  the  control  of 
the  legislature  instead  of  local  boards  as  in  the  other  parts  of  the  state. 

The  first  federal  grant  to  higher  education  in  Mississippi  was  made 
to  Jefferson  College  in  1803.  It  carried  with  it  thirty-six  sections  of 
land  to  be  located  by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  and  two  town  lots 
in  Natchez,  with  an  outlet  adjoining,  not  exceeding  thirty  acres,  to  be 
located  by  the  governor  of  Mississippi  Territory.^  The  township  was 
located  on  the  Tombigbee  River,  within  the  borders  of  the  present 
state  of  Alabama.  Congress  permitted  the  trustees  of  the  college  to 
surrender  these  lands  in  1832  and  substitute  an  equal  quantity  of  land 
within  the  state  of  Mississippi,  to  be  located  by  the  purchasers  of  the 
land.  The  trustees  were  thus  authorized  to  sell  any  tract  of  public 
land  in  the  state  to  any  person  who  wanted  that  particular  tract  until 
they  had  sold  a  quantity  equal  to  the  original  grant  of  thirty-six  sections. 
Congress  fixed  the  price  of  these  lands  at  $6 .  50  an  acre,  and  permitted 
the  trustees  to  receive  payment  from  purchasers  in  annual  instalments.^ 

The  "Seminary  Lands,"  a  second  township  of  land  for  the  aid  of 
higher  education,  were  granted  in  1819,  and  the  state  was  made  trustee 
of  the  lands.  This  grant  has  been  discussed  in  the  chapter  "Higher 
Education  in  Mississippi  from  181 7  to  i860."'' 

One  other  federal  grant  to  the  state  was  used  for  an  educational 
purpose.  The  funds  appropriated  in  1841  to  the  state  as  its  share  of 
the  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  pubhc  lands  were  accepted 
in  1854  and  divided  equally  between  the  institutions  for  the  blind  and 
for  the  deaf  and  dumb.^ 

SUPPORT  OF  COMMON   SCHOOLS 

Common  schools  in  Mississippi  received  partial  support  from  com- 
mon school  funds,  from  indirect  taxes,  from  direct  taxes,  and  from 
appropriations  from  the  general  fund  in  the  state  treasury. 

I.      COMMON   SCHOOL  FUNDS 

There  were  four  distinct  funds  prior  to  the  Civil  War  that  contributed 
to  the  support  of  common  schools.  Two  of  these,  the  Sixteenth  Sec- 
tion Fund  and  the  Chickasaw  Fund,  were  derived  from  the  federal  land 

*  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1844,  pp.  238-40. 

2  United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  II,  234. 

3  Ibid.y  VI,  484-85.        <  See  p.  79.        s  See  p.  loi. 


FEDERAL  AND  STATE  AID  TO  EDUCATION  117 

grants;  the  other  two,  the  Literary  Fund  and  the  county  school  funds, 
usually  referred  to  as  the  Common  School  Fund,  were  the  result  of  state 
appropriation.  To  prevent  confusion  it  seems  advisable  to  define 
each  of  these  funds,  but  only  the  latter  two  require  further  discussion 
than  has  been  given  in  other  chapters/  The  funds  may  be  distinguished 
as  follows: 

1.  Sixteenth  Section  Fund.— This  is  a  generic  name  for  all  township 
funds  realized  from  the  leasmg  of  lands  donated  by  the  national  govern- 
ment for  the  endowment  of  common  schools  m  Mississippi  outside  of 
the  Chickasaw  cession.  It  has  been  shown  in  chapter  iv  of  this  study 
that  by  i860  this  fund  had  been  lost  to  nearly  all  the  townships  through 
bad  investments,  poorly  secured  loans,  or  expenditures  for  temporary 
needs  of  the  schools. 

2.  Chickasaw  Fund.— This  fund  represents  the  sum  of  money 
realized  from  the  sale  of  pubHc  lands  given  by  the  national  government 
to  the  state  for  the  endowment  of  common  schools  in  the  Chickasaw 
counties.  These  lands  were  sold  for  $6 .  00  an  acre,  the  state  used  the 
fund,  and  paid  interest  to  the  Chickasaw  counties  in  proportion  to 
their  area.^ 

3.  Literary  Fund.— This  fund  was  created  by  the  Mississippi  general 
assembly  in  1821  by  an  act  which  appropriated  ''to  the  encouragement 
of  learning"  all  eschea-ts,  confiscations,  forfeitures,  and  "all  personal 
property  accruing  to  the  state  as  derelict,"  and  all  fines  assessed  by 
any  court  in  the  state,  unless  otherwise  appropriated. 

The  act  of  182 1  provided  that  the  revenue  accruing  from  the  sources 
named  should  be  under  the  control  of  a  corporation,  which  was  called 
"The  President  and  Directors  of  the  Literary  Fund."  This  corporation 
was  composed  of  the  governor  of  the  state,  the  lieutenant-governor,  the 
secretary  of  state,  the  attorney  general,  the  presiding  judge  of  the 
supreme  court,  the  chancellor  of  the  state,  and  three  persons  to  be  chosen 
by  the  general  assembly.     The  president  and  directors  were  required 

^  Swift,  A  History  of  Public  Permanent  Common  School  Funds  in  the  United  Stales, 
confuses  the  different  funds  of  this  state.  He  begins  his  chapter  on  Mississippi  school 
funds  with  the  following  statements:  "It  would  appear  that  Sixteenth  Section  Fund 
is  the  title  applied  oflkially  today  to  what  was  originally  known  as  the  Literar>'  Fund. 
It  would  be  more  clear  to  call  this  fund  the  Choctaw  Fund."  The  confusion  of 
Sixteenth  Section  Fund  and  the  Literary  Fund  seems  inexcusable.  As  to  the  sug- 
gestion that  the  Sixteenth  Section  Fund  be  en  lied  the  Choctaw  Fund  it  might  be 
observed  that  the  act  of  1803,  reserving  sixteenth  sections,  applied  at  that  time  only 
to  the  Natchez  district,  which  was  never  Choctaw  territorv'. 

'  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1856,  p.  141. 


Ii8         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

to  appoint  five  or  more  commissioners  of  education  in  each  county 
who  should  superintend  the  education  of  poor  children  in  their  respec- 
tive counties.  These  commissioners  were  to  determine  "what  number 
of  poor  children"  they  would  educate,  to  send  such  children  to  any 
convenient  school  to  be  taught  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic,  and  to 
draw  upon  the  Literary  Fund  to  pay  their  tuition.  The  portion  of  the 
fund  not  required  for  the  education  of  the  poor  was  to  accumulate  as 
an  endowment  for  common  schools.  When  the  fund  should  amount  to 
$50,000  it  was  to  be  distributed  to  the  counties  of  the  state.^ 

The  general  assembly  in  1826  ordered  the  Literary  Fund  to  the 
amount  of  $12,000  to  be  invested  in  stock  of  the  Bank  of  Mississippi, 
and  in  1828  authorized  the  governor  to  invest  the  remainder  of  the 
fund,  as  it  came  in,  in  this  bank.=^  In  1831  the  stock  of  the  Bank  of 
Mississippi  held  by  the  Literary  Fund  was  ordered  sold  and  the  pro- 
ceeds invested  in  stock  of  the  Planters'  Bank.^  By  1833  the  fund  had 
amounted  to  $50,000,  and  under  the  act  creating  it  should  have  been 
distributed  to  the  counties.  The  legislature,  however,  in  ordering  the 
distribution,  modified  the  act  so  that  the  money  should  remain  part  of 
the  funded  stock  of  the  Planters'  Bank,  and  only  the  shares  should  be 
distributed  to  the  counties  on  the  books  of  the  bank.  This  distribution 
was  made  on  a  basis  of  the  white  population  of  the  several  counties. 
The  dividends  only  were  actually  distributed  to  the  counties.^  As 
additional  sums  accrued  to  the  Literary  Fund  each  year  they  were 
invested  in  Planters'  Bank  stock,  of  which  there  seems  to  have  been 
an  unlimited  supply.  When  the  bank  failed,  the  entire  accumulated 
fund  was  lost,  and  the  revenue  that  had  gone  to  the  fund  under  the  act 
of  182 1  was  transferred  in  1839  to  the  support  of  academies.s 

4.  County  Common  School  Funds.— These  funds,  frequently  called 
after  1846  by  the  generic  phrase  ''Common  School  Fund,"  were  of 
two  classes:  those  in  which  the  principal  was  used  for  common  schools, 
and  those  which  were  invested  and  the  interest  only  applied  to  educa- 
tional purposes.  They  may  be  defined  as  all  funds  created  in  the  vari- 
ous counties  by  the  act  of  1846  and  subsequent  special  legislation  from 
escheats,  fines,  and  license  fees,  supplemented  in  some  cases  by  direct 
taxation  within  the  several  counties. 

The  Common  School  Fund  created  by  the  act  of  1846  was  of  the 
first  class  mentioned  above.     Under  the  provisions  of  section  7  of  this 

'  Hutchinson,  Code  of  Mississippi,  p.  205. 

'  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1826,  p.  129;    1828,  p.  130. 

3  Hutchinson,  op.   cit.,  p.  212. 

4  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1824-38,  pp.  460-62.      s  ibid.,  1839,  pp.  38-40.     See  p.  33. 


FEDERAL  AND  STATE  AID  TO  EDUCATION  119 

act  all  fines,  forfeitures,  and  amercements  that  were  decreed,  ordered, 
or  adjudged  by  any  court  in  the  state,  and  all  moneys  arising  from 
licenses  granted  to  hawkers  and  peddlers,  keepers  of  billiard  tables, 
retailers  of  vinous  and  spirituous  liquors,  and  brokers,  were  to  be  paid 
into  the  treasuries  of  the  counties  in  which  they  were  collected  and 
were  to  constitute  the  County  Common  School  Fund.  Those  counties 
in  which  there  was  a  school  tax  levy  were  to  include  the  resulting  tax  in 
the  fund.  In  the  majority  of  the  counties  of  the  state  a  county  school 
fund  of  this  type  was  maintained  continuously  from  1846  until  i860. 

The  second  class  of  County  Common  School  Funds  might  be  called 
the  County  Endowment  Funds.  They  were  created  by  special  acts  of 
the  legislature  providing  educational  laws  for  various  counties  from 
1850  to  i860.  The  source  of  revenue  for  these  funds  and  the  methods 
of  management  differed  in  the  several  counties  that  possessed  them. 
In  all  cases,  however,  the  funds  were  derived  from  some,  if  not  all,  of 
the  following  sources:  escheats,  fines,  and  license  fees.  As  a  rule,  the 
counties  which  created  these  endowment  funds  were  the  more  backward 
counties.  They  levied  no  tax  for  schools  and,  it  appears,  made  no 
serious  effort  to  support  them  at  public  expense.  The  funds  of  this 
class  in  all  cases  were  lent  under  the  restrictions  provided  for  the  six- 
teenth section  funds,  and  the  interest  only  could  be  used  for  educational 
purposes.  In  some  few  cases  the  interest  itself  was  not  used,  but  was 
added  to  the  fund  and  lent  out.^  In  other  counties  the  interest  from 
the  fund  was  used  to  pay  the  tuition  of  poor  children  in  private  schools.' 
Sometimes  the  counties  distributed  the  funds  to  the  townships,  under  a 
requirement  that  the  township  trustees  should  put  their  respective  por- 
tions at  interest  and  manage  them  as  township  endowment  funds.-' 

II.      TAXATION    FOR   COMMON    SCHOOLS 

Indirect  taxation  for  common  schools  was  more  popular  and  more 
prevalent  than  direct  taxation.  With  the  exception  of  a  period  of 
seven  years  indirect  taxes  were  levied  for  the  support  of  common  school 
funds  from  182 1  to  i860.  These  taxes  provided  the  source  of  revenue 
for  the  Literary  Fund  from  182 1  to  1839  and  for  the  common  school 
funds  from  1846  to  i860,  and  have  been  mentioned  in  the  discussion 

'  Sec.  7  of  act  for  Jones  County,  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850,  pp.  226-28. 

*  Act  for  Scott  County,  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850,  p.  147. 

3  The  policy  of  lending  the  common  school  fund  was  pursued  for  varying  periods 
of  time  in  the  following  counties:  Coahoma,  Choctaw,  Clarke,  Franklin,  Greene, 
Itawamba,  Jasper,  Jones,  Lafayette,  Madison,  Oktibbeha,  Panola,  Perr>',  Pontotoc, 
Scott,  Simpson,  Smith,  Tishomingo,  and  Yalobusha. 


I20        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

of  those  funds.  It  should  be  observed  that  for  the  whole  period  from 
1821  to  i860  that  escheats,  confiscations,  forfeitures,  fines  assessed  in 
any  court  were  appropriated  for  educational  purposes,  and  that  license 
fees  required  of  peddlers,  brokers,  keepers  of  billiard  tables,  and  retailers 
of  alcoholic  liquors,  were  devoted  to  common  schools  after  1846.  There 
are  no  statistics  available  to  indicate  how  much  accrued  to  the  various 
school  funds  from  these  sources,  but  the  total  sum  must  have  been 
considerable.  The  amount  of  the  fees  required  for  license  from  the 
peddlers,  brokers,  keepers  of  billiard  tables,  and  liquor  dealers  in  1848 
was  as  follows:'^ 

Hawkers  and  peddlers,  per  annum $  10  to  S      50 

Brokers,  per  annum 100 

Keepers  of  billiard  tables,  per  annum icx) 

Retailers  of  Hquors  (towns),  per  annum 250  to  1,000 

Retailers  of  liquors  (country),  per  annum  ....  50  to  1,000 

The  first  attempt  at  direct  taxation  in  the  interest  of  common 
schools  was  made  in  182 1  in  the  law  creating  the  Literary  Fund.^  This 
feature  of  the  law  was  so  unpopular  that  the  section  providing  for  the 
tax  was  repealed  in  1823  and  the  tax  that  had  been  collected  under  the 
act  in  1822  was  ordered  returned  to  the  counties  from  which  it  came.^ 
Iq  1830  a  second  attempt  to  levy  a  direct  tax  for  the  Literary  Fund 
also  came  to  grief.''  The  act,  approved  in  February  of  this  year,  was 
repealed  in  the  following  December.^  No  further  attempt  to  impose 
direct  taxation  for  school  purposes  was  made  until  1846.  It  has  been 
observed  that  the  school  law  of  that  year  authorized  a  permissive  school 
tax  equal  to  the  state  tax  for  general  purposes,  which  could  be  levied 
by  the  county  boards  of  police  only  upon  the  initiative  of  the  citizens 
of  the  several  townships  in  their  respective  counties.^  In  the  school 
legislation  of  1848  and  subsequent  years,  the  provision  for  the  initiative 
was  repealed  in  a  number  of  counties,  leaving  the  boards  of  police  free 
to  levy  a  school  tax  if  they  thought  fit.  In  other  counties  a  school  tax 
was  made  compulsory,  and  in  some  counties  a  permissive  township  tax 
was  authorized  in  addition  to  the  county  school  tax.  Some  counties 
abandoned  the  principal  of  direct  taxation  in  toto,  and  others  acting 
under  the  permissive  laws,  doutless,  never  levied  a  school  tax.     Table  XV 

'  Hutchinson,  op.  cit.,  pp.  183,  270,  471,  493. 
^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1821,  p.  27. 

3  Ibid.,  1822-23,  p.  103.  5  Ibid.  (November),  p.  19. 

4  Ibid.,  1830,  p.  38.  ^  See  interpretation  of  this  act,  pp.  42-44. 


FEDERAL  AND  STATE  AID  TO  EDUCATION 


121 


TABLE  XV* 

An  Analysis  of  Legislation  Regarding  Direct  Taxation  for  Common  Schools 
IN  the  Several  Counties  from  1848  to  i860 


County 


Adams . . 
Amite.  . 
Attala. . 
Bolivar. 
Calhoun , 
Carroll.  . 


Chickasaw . 
Choctaw. . 
Claiborne . 
Clarke... . 
Coahoma. 


Copiah . 


Covington 
De  Soto.  . 
Franklin .  . 


Greene.  . 
Hancock . 
Harrison . 


Hinds 

Holmes .... 
Issaquena . . 
Itawamba . . 
Jackson .... 

Jasper 

Jefferson . . . 

Jones 

Kemper 

Lafayette.  . 
Lauderdale . 
Lawrence.  . 

Leake 

Lowndes. .  . 
Madison. .  . 
Marion .  .  .  . 
Marshall . . . 
Monroe. . .  . 
Nashoba . .  . 
Newton  — 
Noxubee.  .  . 
Oktibbeha . 

Panola 

Perry 


Compulsory  County 
Tax 


25%  (1848-) 


Sufficient  to  pay  tui 

tion  of  all  educable 

children  (1858-) 


25%  (i85c^)1I 


Same  as  Carroll 

(1858-59);  50% 

(1859-) 


Permissive  County 
Tax 


25%  (1848-) 
25%  ■(1848-50)' 


25%(i848-56);i858- 
25%  (1848-56) 


Same  as  Carroll 

(1858-) 
25%  (i848-)t 
25%  (1848-) 


25%  (1848-) 


25%  (1848-60) 
25%  (1848-56): 
50%  (1856-) 
25%  (1848-58) 


50%  (1856-) 
25%  (1848-56) 
25%  (1848-) 


25%  (1848-) 
25%  (1848-) 
25%  (1848-58) 


Permissive 
Township  Tax 


50%  (i86c:^)t 


25%  (1848-) 
25%  (1848-56) 
25%  (1848-) 
25%  (1848-60) 


25%  (1848-50) 


25%  (1848-50) 
25%'(i85'a-)t" 


25%  (1848-56) 
25%  (1848-) 


50%  (1856-) 


Sufficient    to    main- 
tain free  schools,  12 
months  or  less 
(1854-) 


75%  (i85<^)t 
50%  (i85o-)t 


50%,  (1850-) 


25%  (1848-) 


25%  (1848-) 
25%  (1848-56) 
25%  (1848-50) 


25%  (1848-56) 
25%  (1848-) 
25%  (1848-) 


75%  (i85o-)t 


122         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 
TABLE  XV— Continued 


County 

Compulsory  County 
Tax 

Permissive  County 
Tax 

Permissive 
Township  Tax 

Pike 

25%  (1848-) 
25%  (1848-56) 
25%  (1848-50) 

Pontotoc 

Rankin 

Scott 

Simpson           

25%  (1848-56); 
50%  (1856-) 
25%  (1848-) 

50%  (185 6-) 

Smith 

Sunflower                 .  . 

50%,  (i86o-)t 

Tallahatchie 

Tippah 

25%  (1848-56) 
25%  (1848-56) 

TishominffO 

25%  (1848-) 
25%  (i85o-)t 

25%  (1848-50) 
25%  (1848-) 
25%  (1848-) 

Wavne            

Wilkinson 

25%  (1848-) 

Winston 

25-100%  (i85o-)t 

50%  (i85o-)t 

*  Rate  of  taxation  is  given  in  percentage  of  state  tax  for  general  purposes.    Duration  of  act  authoriz- 
ing or  requiring  tax  levy  indicated  in  parentheses  after  each  statement  of  rate, 
t  Must  be  approved  at  referendum  election  before  the  tax  can  be  levied. 
X  Must  be  initiated  by  petition  from  majority  of  heads  of  families. 
i  Annual  referendum  required  1850-54. 

presents  an  analysis  of  the  school  legislation  from  1848  to  r86o  as  it 
bears  on  the  question  of  direct  taxation,  showing  the  nature  of  the  law 
on  this  question  as  it  applied  to  each  county  during  the  whole  period. 
Counties  for  which  the  table  gives  no  data,  like  Bolivar  and  Newton, 
had  no  law  authorizing  a  direct  school  tax  at  any  time  during  the  twelve 
years.^ 

III.      APPROPRTATIONS    FROM   THE    GENERAL   FUND 

The  legislature  of  1850  passed  an  act  entitled,  ''an  act  to  promote 
common  schools  in  the  state."  The  purpose  was  evidently  twofold: 
to  provide  much  needed  financial  assistance  for  the  common  schools, 
and  to  arouse  the  several  counties  to  keener  efforts  in  behalf  of  their 
schools.  Under  this  act  an  initial  sum  of  $200,000  and  subsequent 
annual  sums  of  $50,000  were  appropriated  ''out  of  any  monies  in  the 
treasury  of  the  State"  for  distribution  to  the  several  comities  of  the 
state  for  common  school  purposes.^    The  money  was  to  be  used  in 

'  The  rate  of  taxation  is  stated  in  the  table  as  in  the  acts  themselves,  in  terms  of 
the  state  tax  for  general  purposes.  The  tax  rates  varied  during  the  period.  In 
1848  the  land  tax  was  2^  mills,  in  addition  to  which  there  were  varying  rates  of 
personal  property  taxes. 

^  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1850  (Regular  Session),  p.  67. 


FEDERAL  AND  STATE  AID  TO  EDUCATION  123 

some  counties  for  improvement  or  current  expenses  of  schools;  in  others, 
to  be  added  to  the  county  endowment  funds  for  elementary  education. 
The  distribution  was  to  be  made  upon  the  basis  of  the  number  of  white 
children  between  the  ages  of  six  and  twenty  years  in  the  several  counties, 
but  no  comity  was  to  have  a  share  unless  it  levied  a  special  school  tax 
amounting  to  at  least  one-fourth  of  its  share  of  the  state  appropriation. 
Some  delay  seems  to  have  been  encountered  in  getting  the  enumera- 
tion of  school  children  from  the  counties  that  qualified  to  participate 
in  the  distribution.  When  the  legislature  met  in  1852,  no  distribution 
of  funds  had  been  made.  This  legislature,  having  made  several  minor 
amendments  to  the  act  of  their  predecessors,  ordered  the  distribution  of 
the  initial  appropriation  of  $200,000,  and  also  the  two  annual  appropria- 
tions for  the  years  1851  and  1852,  making  the  total  appropriation  for  that 
year  $300,000.'  The  state  auditor's  reports  show  that  $282,989 .  77  of  the 
amount  was  disbursed  in  1852,  $2,975.32  in  1853,  and  $13,801.49  in 
1854,  making  the  total  distribution  $299,766. 58.^  The  amended  act 
of  1852  suspended  the  annual  distribution  of  $50,000  for  the  year  1853, 
with  the  provision  that  it  should  be  resumed  April  i,  1854,  but  the 
reports  of  the  auditor  for  the  years  following  do  not  show  a  resumption 
of  disbursements.  The  act  was,  in  effect,  repealed  in  1857  by  being 
omitted  from  the  Revised  Code  of  that  year. 

STATE   AID   FOR   SECONDARY   SCHOOLS 
I.      LOTTERIES 

The  practice  of  permitting  the  trustees  of  schools  to  raise  funds  by 
means  of  lotteries  began  in  Mississippi  with  the  first  act  of  the  terri- 
torial assembly  upon  the  question  of  education — the  incorporation  of 
Jefferson  College.^  Six  of  the  eight  academies  incorporated  during  the 
territorial  period  were  granted  the  privilege  of  raising  in  this  manner 
amounts  varying  from  $1,000  to  $5,000.  The  general  assembly  passed 
an  act  upon  gaming  in  1822,  which  forbade  the  holding  of  lotteries, 
except  when  authorized  by  a  special  act  of  the  assembly.  The  practice 
of  permitting  academies  to  raise  funds  in  this  way  was  not  discontinued, 

'  Ibid.,  1852,  pp.  156-57.  See  also  Barnard,  The  American  Journal  of  Education, 
I,  447- 

2  Auditor's  Reports,  House  Journal,  1854,  p.  34,  and  Senate  Journal,  1856,  p.  40. 
The  entire  disbursement  for  1854  represented  delayed  settlements  with  the  counties 
of  De  Soto  and  Rankin. 

3  The  propriety  of  including  lotteries  under  state  aid  may  be  questioned.  It 
seems  to  the  writer  that  they  were  in  effect  an  indirect  tax  upon  the  citizenr}-  of  the 
state,  and  may,  therefore,  be  included  under  this  head. 


124         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

however,  until  1833.  In  Table  XVI  the  limit  placed  upon  the  lottery- 
privilege  of  the  academies  incorporated  during  the  territorial  period  is 
given.  After  the  admission  of  Mississippi  as  a  state,  the  following 
academies  were  given  the  privilege  of  raising  by  lottery  the  amounts 
stated : 

Hancock  College,  1818 $  4,000 

Hancock  CoUege,  1819 20,000 

Pearl  River  Academy  (Monticello) ,  1819 10,000 

Natchez  Academy,  1819 20,000 

Columbian  Academy,  1820 2,000 

Elizabeth  Female  Academy,  1820 10,000 

Franklin  Academy  (Columbus),  1821 5, 000 

Clinton  Academy  (Port  Gibson),  1826 2,000 

Mississippi  Academy  (Clinton),  1827 20,000 

Westville  Academy,  1827 5,ooo 

Benton  Academy,  1829 5,ooo 

Pearl  River  Academy  (Brandon),  1829 5, 000 

Brandon  Academy,  1833 5,000 

II.      EXEMPTIONS 

Exemption  from  taxation  is  another  form  of  state  aid  that  was 
employed  from  early  territorial  days.  It  was  often  granted  specifically 
in  charters,  and  was  conferred  upon  all  incorporated  educational  insti- 
tutions by  the  revenue  laws  after  1822.^ 

TABLE  XVI 
Territorial  Aid  to  Academies 


Xame 

Date  of 
Incorporation 

Lottery 
Privilege 

Exempt 
from  Tax  ? 

Direct 
Grant 

Franklin  Society 

1807 
1809 
1811 
1812 
1814 
1815 
1815 
1815 

No 
No 
Yes 
Yes 
No 
No 
No 
No 

$2,000 
5,000 
4,000 
1,000 
3,000* 

Washington  Academy 

Greene  Academy 

$500 
500 

Tackson  Academv 

Amite  Academy 

Pinckne>^ille  Academy.  .  .  . 
Wilkinson  Academy 

1,000 

Supplementary  act,  1816. 


APPROPRIATIONS 


Only  once,  in  1816,  did  Mississippi  make  an  appropriation  from  the 
general  fund  in  the  treasury  for  the  benefit  of  academies.  At  that 
time  the  territory  donated  $500  each  to  St.  Stephens  Academy  (probably 
identical  with  Washington  Academy)  and  to  Greene  Academy.^ 


Poindexter:  Revised  Code,  p.  285. 


Digest,  1816,  p.  80. 


FEDERAL  AND  STATE  AID  TO  EDUCATION  125 

IV.      INDIRECT   TAXES 

For  a  period  of  seven  years,  beginning  in  1839,  Mississippi  assisted 
a  large  number  of  academies  in  the  state  by  appropriatmg  to  their 
support  ''all  fines,  penalties,  forfeitures,  and  amercements  which  had 
been  assessed  by  any  court  in  the  state"  and  had  not  been  paid  into 
the  Literary  Fund,  and  all  which  might  thereafter  be  assessed/  Thirty 
academies  in  twenty-two  counties  were  named  in  the  act  as  beneficiaries 
of  these  funds  in  their  respective  counties,  and  the  boards  of  police 
were  authorized  to  designate  the  recipients  of  the  funds  of  the  other 
counties.^ 

While  the  law  providing  for  the  assistance  of  academies  throughout 
the  state  by  means  of  indirect  taxation  was  effective  only  seven  years, 
there  were  some  academies,  both  before  and  after  this  seven-year  period, 
which  received  assistance  from  this  source.  As  early  as  1827  the 
Fayette  Academy  was  given  the  proceeds  from  licenses  to  keepers  of 
billiard  tables  and  from  the  sales  of  estrays  throughout  Jefferson  County.^ 
The  same  legislation  was  enacted  for  Clinton  (afterwards  Port  Gibson) 
Academy  in  Claiborne  County."*  Other  special  acts  of  the  legislature 
assigned  to  academies  in  various  counties  the  revenue  arising  from  some 
of  the  following  sources:  escheats,  sales  of  runaway  slaves,  fines,  for- 
feitures, license  fees  for  hawkers,  peddlers,  inn-keepers,  keepers  of 
private  houses  of  entertainment,  ten-pin  alleys,  ferries,  auctioneers,  and 
retailers  of  vmous  and  spirituous  hquors.^  The  custom  of  devoting 
the  proceeds  of  liquor  licenses  to  the  cause  of  education  seems  to  have 
been  begun  in  Mississippi  with  the  common  school  law  of  1846.  One  of 
the  supplements  to  that  law,  passed  at  the  same  session  of  the  legisla- 
ture, provided  that  an  exception  should  be  made  of  the  town  of  Canton 
so  far  as  the  license  fees  from  saloons  were  concerned,  and  that  these 
fees  should  go  to  the  Canton  Female  Academy  instead  of  the  common 
schools.  Similar  acts  in  the  years  following  diverted  a  part  and  fre- 
quently all  the  revenue  from  liquor  licenses  in  their  respective  counties 
to  the  following  academies:  Lexington  Male  and  Female  (1846),  Aber- 
deen Female   (1848),  Polkville   (1850),  Macon  Female  Institute  and 

'  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1839  (Adjourned  Session),  pp.  38-40. 

^  In  four  counties  the  funds  did  not  go  to  secondary  education,  but  were  appropri- 
ated as  follows:  Adams,  to  Orphan  Asylum;  Lowndes,  to  common  schools;  Warren, 
to  poor  house;  Yazoo,  to  Yazoo  Library  Association.     See  p.  63  and  footnote. 

3  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1827,  pp.  58-59. 

<  Ibid.,  1829,  pp.  46-47. 

5  Ibid,,  1838,  pp.  78-82;  1850,  p.  493;  1852,  p.  436;  i860,  p.  300. 


126        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Macon  Male  Academy  (1850),  Yazoo  Female  (1850),  the  incorporated 
institutions  of  Holmes  County  (1852),  Fayette  Female  (1852),  Franklin, 
in  Lowndes  County  (i860). 

V.       SIXTEENTH    SECTION    AND    COMMON    SCHOOL   FUNDS 

There  are  a  number  of  acts  of  the  legislature  which  authorize  acade- 
mies to  receive  sixteenth  section  funds  from  the  township  in  which  they 
were  located,  or  a  share  of  the  county  Common  School  Fund  of  their 
county.  The  use  of  the  latter  funds  by  academies  was  usually  limited 
to  the  pro  rata  share  of  the  Common  School  Fund  that  properly  belonged 
to  the  children  of  the  county  who  attended  the  academy.' 

The  following  academies  were  beneficiaries  of  the  sixteenth  section 
fund.  The  year  in  which  the  use  of  the  fund  was  granted  is  indicated 
in  each  case.* 

Franklin  Academy,  1821. 

Marion  Academy  (Wilkinson),  1830. 

Brandon  Academy,  1836. 

An  Academy — supported  by  two  adjacent  townships  in  Wilkinson  County, 
1836. 

Plymouth  Male  and  Female  Academy,  1839. 

Vicksburg  Female  Academy,  1840. 

The  Greensboro  Academies,  1840. 

Grenada  Male  Academy  and  Grenada  Female  Academy,  1841. 

Polkville  Academy,  1850. 

SUPPORT   OF  HIGHER   EDUCATION 

No  regular  support  of  higher  education  in  Mississippi  was  provided 
until  after  1848.  Previous  to  that  time  a  number  of  concessions  were 
made  to  various  institutions  in  the  way  of  direct  or  indirect  financial 
assistance.  The  most  frequent  uidirect  aid  to  colleges  was  exemption 
from  taxation,  which  was  given  without  exception  to  all  higher  insti- 
tutions in  the  state.  Some  of  the  earlier  institutions  were  also  given 
the  privilege  of  raising  funds  by  lotteries.  Jefferson  College,  for  instance, 
was  permitted  to  raise  $10,000  in  this  way,  and  Mississippi  College  was 
authorized  to  raise  $20,000.^  For  ten  years,  from  1811  to  182 1,  Jefferson 
College  was  also  given  all  escheats  in  Mississippi.^  There  are  also 
'  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1854,  p.  429• 
^ /&iJ.,  1821,  pp.  73-7S;  1830,  p.  51;  1836,  p.  392;  1839,  P- 357;  1840,  p.  131; 
ibid.,  p.  157;   1841,  p.  258;   1850,  p.  395.     See  abstracts  of  charters  in  Appendix  A. 

3  Digest,  1816,  p.  310. 

4  Mayes,  "History  of  Education  in  Mississippi,"  United  States  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion, Circular  of  Information,  No.  2. 


FEDERAL  AND  STATE  AID  TO  EDUCATION  127 

three  instances  of  loans  of  money  from  the  state  treasury  to  colleges. 
Two  of  these  were  made  to  Jefferson  College — $6,000  in  1816  and 
$4,000  in  1820;^  the  third  loan  was  to  Mississippi  College — $5,000  in 
1829.^  None  of  these  loans  were  repaid  by  the  colleges.  The  claim 
against  Mississippi  College  was  cancelled  by  the  legislature  m  1854,^ 
and  the  two  against  Jefferson  College  in  1858.''  Mississippi  College 
was  also  granted  the  rents  from  the  seminary  lands  in  1827  for  a  period 
of  five  years.  5 

Beginning  in  1848  the  legislature  made  regular  semiannual  appro- 
priations to  the  support  of  the  state  university,  in  addition  to  a  number 
of  special  appropriations.  The  sum  of  $50,000  was  appropriated  to  the 
trustees  of  the  university  in  1846  for  building  purposes.^  In  1848  a 
standing  semiannual  appropriation  amounting  to  $6,226.75  P^^  annum 
was  made  for  the  support  of  the  institution.  This  was  evidently  intended 
as  payment  of  interest  upon  the  portion  of  the  Seminary  Fund  that  had 
been  collected  and  was  then  in  the  state  treasury.  The  act  provided 
also  that  6  per  cent  should  be  paid  by  the  state  upon  all  sums  thereafter 
paid  into  the  state  treasury  to  the  credit  of  the  university."^  In  1850  a 
second  semiannual  appropriation  amounting  to  $6,000  a  year  was 
made  for  the  maintenance  of  a  department  of  ''Agricultural  and  Geologi- 
cal Science."^  In  1854  the  law  department  was  established^  for  which 
an  annual  appropriation  of  $2,000  was  allowed.^  This  sum  was  increased 
to  $4,000  a  year  in  1860.^°  The  rapid  growth  of  the  university  soon 
made  a  more  adequate  plant  necessary.  To  meet  this  need  the  legis- 
lature of  1856  made  an  appropriation  of  $100,000,  to  be  paid  in  five 
annual  instalments,  for  buildings,  library  equipment,  and  "other  press- 
ing wants"  of  the  institution."  In  i860  the  annual  instalments  of 
$20,000  were  ordered  continued  for  two  years  longer,  bringing  the 
total  appropriation  for  these  purposes  to  $140,000.'^ 

The  total  amount  appropriated  to  the  university  from  1S46  to  i860 
appears  to  have  been  $340,321,  in  addition  to  6  per  cent  interest  on 
funds  that  came  into  the  treasury  to  the  credit  of  the  institution  after 
1848.     The  purposes  for  which  the  various  sums  were  appropriated 

^  Digest,  1816,  p.  453;  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1820,  p.  53. 
"  Laws  of  Mississippi,  1829,  pp.  54-55. 

3  Ibid.,  1854,  p.  470.  *  Ibid.,  1850,  p.  127. 

4  Ibid.,  1858,  p.  170.  9  Ibid.,  1854,  p.  160. 

s  Ibid.,  1827,  pp.  85-86.  "  Ibid.,  1859-60,  p.  239. 

^  Ibid.,  1846,  pp.  104-5  "  Ibid.,  1856,  p.  76. 

7  Ibid.,  1848,  pp.  104-5.  "  I^'(i;  1859-60,  p.  238. 


121 


EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 


with  the  total  amount  of  the  appropriations  may  be  summarized  as 
follows: 

For  buildings  and  equipment,  1846 $  So,ooo 

Semiannual  appropriation  for  support,  1848-60 •  •  74,72i 

Department  of  Agriculture  and  Geology,  semiannual  appropriation, 

1851-60 6°'°^ 

Department  of  Law,  $2,000  per  annum,  1854-60  and  $4,000  in  i860  16,000 
Buildings,  library,  and  other  "pressing  wants,"  annual  appropriation 

of  $20,000  for  five  years 100,000 

Above  annual  appropriation  authorized  for  two  additional  years,  i860  40,000 

Total  appropriations $340,721 


APPENDIX  A 


ABSTRACT  OF  CHARTERS  OF  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS 
AND  HIGHER  INSTITUTIONS 

Unless  otherwise  specified,  references  in  the  margin  are  to  pages  of  the 
printed  session  laws  for  the  session  indicated  by  the  date  of  incorporation. 
References  to  manuscript  laws  are  indicated  by  the  abbreviations  T.A.  and 
S.A.,  for  Territorial  Archives  and  State  Archives,  respectively,  and  are  followed 
by  the  statement  of  the  series  and  number  in  which  they  may  be  found  in  the 
State  Department  of  Archives  and  History  at  Jackson.  For  instance:  T.A., 
D,  8  means  Territorial  Archives,  Series  D,  Number  8. 


I.       ACADEMIES  AND   OTHER  SECONDARY   SCHOOLS 
ABSTRACTS 

Franklin  Society: 

Cato  West  and  twenty-one  others  incorporated  for  the 
purpose  of  maintaining  Franklin  Academy.  May  hold 
property,  provided  annual  income  therefrom  shall  not 
exceed  $20,000.  May  make  regulations  for  the  election 
of  new  members  to  the  society.     January  8,  1807. 

Madison  Academy: 

Thirteen  trustees  incorporated.  May  receive  donations. 
Self-perpetuating.  Shall  examine  proficiency  of  students, 
elect  president  and  professors,  make  regulations  for 
academy,  and  provide  equal  advantages  for  all  religious 
denominations.  May  raise  $2,000  by  lottery.  Decem- 
ber 5,  1809. 

Washington  Academy: 

Twenty-seven  trustees  incorporated.  May  employ  teach- 
ers and  remove  them  at  pleasure.  Shall  make  regulations 
for  government  of  academy.  Self-perpetuating.  Exempt 
from  tax.     May  raise  $5,000  by  lottery.     December  17, 

1811. 

Amendment,  December  24,  1S14:    New  board  of  twelve 

trustees  incorporated. 

Greene  Academy: 

Fifteen  trustees  incorporated.  Located  in  Madison 
County.'     Trustees  may  select  site,  engage  president  and 


Reference 

Digest(i8i6): 

52. 


Digest  (1816), 
53. 


T.A.,  D.  8. 


Digest(i8i6): 
54-55- 

Digest(i8i6), 
56-57- 


I  The  first  Madison  County,  in  Alabama  after  division  of  Mississippi  Territory. 


129 


130        EDUCATION.\L  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

Other  professors,  supersede  them  at  pleasure,  make  laws 
for  the  government  of  the  academy  and  for  promoting 
morality  among  the  students.  Self-perpetuating.  Exempt 
from  taxation.  [May  raise  $4,000  by  lottery.  Novem- 
ber 25,  1812. 

Jackson  Academy: 

Established  in  Wilkinson  County  under  the  superintend-    Digest  (1816), 

ence  of  nine  trustees  who  are  made  a  self-perpetuating     57. 

corporate  body.     May  employ  principal  professor  and 

other  teachers  and  remove  them  at  pleasure.     Shall  hold 

stated  meetings  for  examining  proficiency  of  students. 

Make  regulations  for  government  of  academy  and  the 

promotion  of  learning,  virtue,  and  morality  among  the 

students.     May  raise  by  lottery  $1,000.     December  27, 

1814. 

Wilkinson  Academy: 

Under  the  superintendence  of  nine  trustees.     Power  to     Digest  (1816), 
receive    donations.     Self -perpetuating.     May    engage    a     59. 
teacher  or  teachers.     Shall  examine  the  proficiency  of 
students,  and  make  regulations  for  government  of  the 
institution  and  for  promoting  learning,  virtue,  and  moral- 
ity.   May  raise  by  lottery  $1,000.    December  23,  1815. 

Pinckneyville  Academy: 

In  Wilkinson  County.     Board  of  nine  trustees  incorpo-    Digest  (1816), 

rated.    May  receive  donations.    Self-perpetuating.    IMay     58-59- 

engage  principal  and  other  teachers.     Shall  hold  stated 

and  called  meetings  for  examining  into  the  proficiency  of 

students,  and  shall  make  laws  for  the  government  of 

the  institution  and  for  promoting  learning,  virtue,  and 

morality  among  the  students.    December  23,  181 5. 

Amite  Academy: 

Eleven  trustees  made  a  corporate  body.    May  select  site    Digest  (1816), 

within   three  miles  of  Liberty,   Amite   County.      Self-     57-58. 

perpetuating.     May  employ  teachers  and  remove  them 

at  pleasure.     Shall  hold  stated  and  called  meetings  for 

examining  into  the  proficiency  of  students,  and  make 

regulations  for  the  government  of  the  academy,  and  for  the 

promotion  of  learning,  virtue,  and  morality  among  the 

students.     December  8,  1815. 

Amendment  authorizing  the  trustees  to  raise  $3,000  by     T.A.,  D,  10. 

lottery.     December  6,  1816. 


APPENDIX  A  131 

Reference 

Hancock  College: 

Ten  trustees  incorporated.  Self-perpetuating.  May  re-  S.A.,  I,  i. 
ceive  donations;  select  site  for  school  within  the  corpo- 
rate limits  of  Shieldsborough,  Hancock  County;  employ 
faculty  and  displace  them  at  pleasure.  Exempt  from 
taxation.  May  raise  by  lottery  $4,000.  January  31, 
1818. 

Amendment  increasing  the  limit  of  sum  to  be  raised  to 
$20,000.     January  29,  1819. 

Beach  Hill  Academy: 

Five  trustees  incorporated.     May  raise  subscriptions  and     S.A.,  I,  2. 
receive  donations,  not  to  exceed  $10,000.     Self-perpetuat- 
ing.    February  6,  1819. 

Pearl  River  Academy: 

Five  trustees  incorporated.  May  purchase  real  estate,  S.A.,  I,  2. 
receive  donations,  devises,  and  bequests,  and  raise  by 
lottery  $10,000,  provided  all  shall  be  used  exclusively  for 
erecting  and  endowing  the  said  academy  upon  land 
donated  for  that  purpose.  Self-perpetuating.  May  make 
regulations  to  govern  teachers  and  scholars.  February  12, 
1819. 

Natchez  Academy: 

Fourteen  trustees  incorporated.  May  receive  and  hold  S.A.,  I,  2. 
real  and  personal  property  to  any  amount;  make  regula- 
tions for  "the  good  government  of  the  institution;"  erect 
and  repair  a  house  or  houses  for  the  school;  employ 
professors,  tutors,  and  other  oihcers;  fix  their  salaries; 
and  supersede  them  at  pleasure.  Shall  examine  the  pro- 
ficiency of  students,  make  rules  for  promoting  morality 
and  virtue  among  them,  and  shall  admit  all  denomina- 
tions to  equal  advantages  of  a  liberal  education.  Self- 
perpetuating.  Exempt  from  taxation.  May  raise  $20,000 
by  lottery.     February  12,  1819. 

Elizabeth  Female  Academy: 

Five  trustees  incorporated.  May  own  real  and  personal  S.A.,  I,  2. 
property  to  $100,000.  Vacancies  in  the  board  may  be 
filled  by  the  Methodist  Mississippi  Annual  Conference. 
Trustees  may  make  regulations  for  government  of  the 
academy  and  for  promoting  piety  and  virtue  among  the 
students,  but  no  religious  list  or  opinion  shall  be  required 
of  pupils  for  admission.     February  17,  1819. 

Amendment,  February  i,  1820:   Authorized  the  tnistees     S.A.,  I,  3. 
to  raise  $10,000  by  lottery. 


132        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

Wilkinson  Female  Academy: 

Six   trustees   and    their    associates   incorporated.     May     S.A.,  I,  2. 
receive  gifts,  grants,  bequests  of  books,  charts,  maps, 
chattels,  lands,  tenements,  and  money  for  the  benefit  of 
said  institution.     May  own  real  property  to  Sio,ooo  and 
personal  to  $20,000.     February  19,  1819. 

Columbian  Academy: 

Shall  be  established  in  Marion  County.     Eight  trustees     S.A.,  I,  3- 
incorporated,  with  power  to  increase  their  number  to 
twelve.     ]May  receive  donations,  recover  by  law  debts  due 
the  academy,  and  elect  teacher  or  teachers.     Exempt  from 
tax.     May  raise  by  lottery  $2,000.     February  10,    1820. 

Franklin  Academy: 

Whereas  the  town  site  of  Columbus  is  included  in  the     73-75- 
sixteenth  section  of  fractional  T.  18,  R.   18,  W.,  from 
basis  meridian  of  Madison  County,  Alabama: 
Eight  commissioners  appointed  to  lay  out  not  more  than 
one  acre  of  section  in  town  lots,  to  be  leased  by  agents 
appointed  by  the  county  courts  for  ninety-nine  years  at 
an  annual  rental.     Commissioners  incorporated  as  trustees 
of  Franklin  Academy.     ShaU  select  site,  employ  teachers, 
and  make  regulations.     May  increase  their  number  to 
twelve   and   fill    all   vacancies.     May    raise    $5^000    by 
lottery.     Shall  apply  proceeds  from  lease  of  lots  to  edu- 
cational purposes  within  the  township.    February  10, 182 1. 
Amendment,  February  3,  1827:   Power  of  county  courts     136-38. 
to  lease  lots  transferred  to  trustees.     Authorized  to  lease 
additional   lots,    when    the   interest    of    the   institution 

requires. 

Amendment,  February  10, 1830:  Grants  authority  to  lease    31-32. 

additional  lots.  ^         ,  1        ^    f 

Amendment,  December  13,  1830:  Repeals  amendment  of    9-10- 
February  3,  1827.     Trustees  may  lease  tracts  of  ten  acres 
for  period  of  ninety-nine  years,  rent  payable  annuaUy  m 
advance. 

Amendment,  December  19,  1831:    Board  of  trustees  to     120-22. 
consist  of  five  members,  elected  annually  by  the  qualified 
electors  of  the  township.  ^    r     c  a     t    tQ 

Amendment,  March  i,  1833:   To  re-enact  amendment  of     S.A.,  I,  18. 
December  19,  1831,  the  legality  of  which  was  doubted, 
because  it  was  passed  without  the  consent  of  the  corpora- 
tion.    This  act  is  passed  with  the  consent  of  the  self- 
perpetuating  board. 


APPENDIX  A  133 

Reference 

An  act  to  authorize  and  require  the  trustees  to  lease  lots    412-13- 
of  less  than  one-fourth  an  acre.     January  28,  1846. 

Sligo  Academy: 

Established  in  Wilkinson  County  on  the  tract  of  land     7-8. 
known    as    Sligo.     Eight    trustees    incorporated.     May 
receive    donations.       Self-perpetuating.       May     engage 
teachers.     November  20,  182 1. 

Centre  Academy  and  Meeting  House: 

Eight  trustees  made  a  body  corporate.  May  increase  86-88. 
their  number  to  nine.  Shall  examine  qualifications  of 
teachers  as  to  capacity  and  morals,  and  employ  such  as 
they  think  qualified.  Shall  make  rules  for  academy 
and  provide  equal  privileges  for  all  denominations.  Janu- 
ary 20,  1823. 

Flower  Hill  Academy: 

Five    trustees    incorporated.      Self-perpetuating.      May     77-78. 
engage  a  principal   professor  and  other  teachers.     Shall 
examine  the  proficiency  of  students  and  make  regulations 
for  the  government  of  the  seminary.     February  2,  1825. 

Clinton  Academy: 

In  the  county  of  Claiborne.  Nine  trustees  incorporated.  63-65. 
Self-perpetuating.  Shall  select  site  within  one  mile  of 
Port  Gibson.  May  engage  teachers,  examine  their  pro- 
ficiency, and  dismiss  them  at  pleasure.  Shall  examine 
progress  of  students  at  stated  intervals.  Exempt  from 
tax.  Real  property  may  not  exceed  $20,000.  May  raise 
$2,000  by  lottery.     January  23,  1826. 

Amendment,  February  12,  1830:   Name  changed  to  Port     91. 
Gibson  Academy.  ,        ,     r         .  o 

Amendment,  February  5,  1838:    New  board  of  trustees     79-82. 
named.     Property  limit  raised  to  $100,000.     License  fees 
for  keepers  of  billiard  tables  and  all  proceeds  from  sales 
of  runaway  slaves  and  all  escheats  in  the  county  appropri- 
ated to  the  academy. 

Amendment,   December  3,    1858:    Female   department,     121-22. 
recently  organized,  authorized  to  confer  degrees. 

Hamstead  Academy: 

Nine  trustees  incorporated.     May  receive  donations,  and     23-25. 
collect  all  debts  and  dues  by  law.     Self-perpetuating. 


January  24,  1826. 

Amendment,  February  5,  1827:  Name  changed  to  Missis- 
sippi Academy.  Trustees  authorized  to  raise  $20,000  by 
lottery.     Proprietors  of  town  of  Clinton  authorized  to  seU 


-86. 


134         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

lots  by  lottery,  provided  15  per  cent  of  the  proceeds  be 
appropriated  to  the  academy.    Rents  from  Seminary  Lands 
for  five  years  appropriated  to  the  support  of  the  academy. 
Amendment,   December    16,    1830:     Name   changed   to     101-2. 
Mississippi  College.     Power  to  confer  degrees. 

Westville  Academy: 

Seven  trustees  incorporated.  May  select  site  within  two  73-76. 
miles  of  Westville,  Simpson  County;  erect  an  "academi- 
cal edifice";  and  engage  a  "preceptor  and  other  professors." 
Shall  examine  proficiency  of  students  and  make  rules  for 
the  academy.  Equal  privileges  for  all  religious  denomi- 
nations. May  raise  $5,000  by  lottery.  Exempt  from 
tax,  provided  clear  yearly  value  shall  not  exceed  $1,000. 
January  27,  1827. 

Fayette  Academy: 

Five  trustees  incorporated.     Located  in  Jefferson  County.     58-59. 
May  erect  house  and  appoint  professors  and  necessary 
teachers.     Taxes  on  billiard  tables  and  proceeds  of  all 
sales  of  estrays  in  the  county  appropriated  to  the  support 
of  the  academy.     Self-perpetuating.     February  6,  1827. 

Rutledge  Academy: 

Five  trustees  incorporated.  Self-perpetuating.  Loca-  66-67. 
tion,  within  one  mile  of  Gallatin,  Copiah  County.  May 
engage  teachers,  examine  their  proficiency,  and  dismiss 
them  for  malconduct  or  incompetency.  Shall  examine 
progress  of  pupils.  Real  property  limit,  $10,000.  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1828. 

Benton  Academy: 

Seven  trustees  incorporated.  Self-perpetuating.  May  73-78. 
select  site  at  Benton,  in  Yazoo  County,  erect  buildings, 
employ  teachers  and  displace  them  at  pleasure.  Shall 
examine  the  proficiency  of  students  and  shall  admit  all 
denominations  to  equal  advantages.  May  raise  by 
lottery  $5 ,000.  Exempt  from  tax,  provided  annual  income 
from  property  does  not  exceed  $1,000.     January  29,  1829. 

Pearl  River  Academy  {Rankin  County): 

Nine  trustees.  Self -perpetuating.  Located  upon  six-  73-78. 
teenth  section.  May  engage  teachers  and  dismiss  them  at 
pleasure.  Shall  examine  proficiency  of  students.  Shall 
provide  equal  privileges  for  all  religious  denominations. 
May  raise  $5,000  by  lottery,  and  control  for  the  use  of  the 
academy  all  funds  from  the  sixteenth  section  on  which  it  is 
located.     January  29,  1829. 


APPENDIX  A  135 

Reference 

Marion  Academy  {Wilkinson  County): 

Five    trustees    incorporated.      Self-perpetuating.      May     51-52. 
appoint   president   and   teachers   and   remove   them   at 
pleasure.     Shall    examine    the    proficiency   of    students. 
Shall  lease  annually  the  sixteenth  section  upon  which 
the  academy  is  located.     January  30,  1830. 

Natchez  Academy: 

Twelve  trustees  incorporated.     Shall  govern  the  affairs  of     155-6- 
the  academy,  procure  competent  teachers,  fix  their  salaries, 
ordain  the  course  of  study,  establish  terms,  vacations,  and 
tuition  fees.     Self -perpetuating.     February  10,  1830. 

Hampden  Academy: 

Seven  trustees.     Self-perpetuating.     May  engage  instruct-    42-43- 
ors  and  shall  examine  proficiency  of  students.     Decem- 
ber 16,  1830.     Located  at  Raymond,  Hinds  County. 
Amendment,  February  4,  1836:     Name  changed  to  Ray-     395- 
mond  Academy. 

Meridian  Springs  Academy  {Hinds  County): 

Seven  trustees.     May  make  rules  for  the  government  of     11 2-13. 
the  academy.     Self-perpetuating.    December  5,  1831. 

Vicksburg  Institute: 

The  officers  of  the  time  being  incorporated  under  the  name    49-5° • 
"The  Vicksburg  Institute  of  Science  and  Literature." 
May  receive  donation;   make  regulations  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  academy.    December  19,  183 1. 

Yazoo  Academy: 

Seven    trustees.      May    increase    their    number.      Self-    S.A.,  I.  18. 
perpetuating.     Exempt  from  tax,  provided  net  annual 
income  from   property  does  not  exceed   $1,000.      Feb- 
ruary 2,  1833. 

Hickory  Springs  Academy  {Holmes  County): 

(Incorporated  in  same  act  with  Yazoo  Academy.)     Four     S.A.,  I.  18. 

trustees.     Same  powers  as  Yazoo  Academy.     February  2, 

1833. 

Brandon  Academy: 

School  commissioners  of  fractional  T.  i.  R.  4,  W.  and     S.A.,  I,  18. 
their  successors  made  a  corporate  body  for  the  purpose 
of  maintaining  Brandon  Academy.     May  receive  dona- 
tions and  raise  $5,000  by  lottery.     February  2,  1833. 

Pearl  River  Academy  {Madison  County): 

Five    trustees.     Self-perpetuating.     ]\Iay    increase    their     S.i\..,  I,  18. 
number,  appoint  a  president,  and  make  by-laws.     Febru- 
ruary  15,  1833. 


136        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

Spring  Ridge  Academy  {Madison  County)'. 

Nine  trustees.     Make  regulations  for  government  of  the     S.A.,  I,  19. 

academy  and  for  promoting  morality,  learning,  and  virtue 

among  the  students.     Shall  hold  regular  meetings  twice  a 

year.     Self-perpetuating.     Shall  establish  an  academy  on 

the  tract  of  land  near  Livingston,  which  is  offered  to  be 

donated  by  Archibald  McGehee.     December  23,  1833. 

Gallatin  Female  Academy: 

Incorporates  a  self-perpetuating  board  of  trustees.     May     S.A.,  I,  19. 
receive  donations,  employ  teachers,  and  make  regulations 
for  the  government  of  the  school.     February  4,  1833. 

Monticello  Academy: 

In  Lawrence  County.     Eight  trustees.     Self-perpetuating.     385-86. 
May  engage  teachers  and  remove  them  at  pleasure.     Act 
creating    Pearl    River   Academy    in    Lawrence    County 
repealed.     February  4,  1836. 

Canton  Female  Academy: 

Six  trustees.     Limit  to  real  and  personal  estate,  $20,000.     396-97. 
Trustees  may  appoint  teachers  and  make  by-laws  for 
governing  the  academy  and  promoting  learning  among 
the   students.     Shall   hold   semiannual   meetings.     Self- 
perpetuating.     February  5,  1836. 

Supplementary  act,  February  4,  1846:   All  moneys  from     535-36. 
liquor  licenses  and  Hcenses  to  keepers  of  billiard  tables 
arising  in  the  town  of  Canton  appropriated  to  the  Canton 
Female  Academy. 

Madisonville  Male  and  Female  academies: 

Nine  trustees  incorporated  as  a  board  for  both  schools.     380-82. 
Shall  make  rules  for  the  government  of  the  academies 
and  for  promoting  morality,  virtue,  and  learning  among 
the    students.     Shall   hold   semiannual   meetings.     Self- 
perpetuating.     February  24,  1836. 

Washington  Irving  Academy  and  Franklin  Female  Academy: 

Fourteen  trustees  incorporated.     May  receive  donations    393-95- 
and  legacies.     May  make  rules  for  the  academy.     Located 
in  town  of  Franklin.     Trustees  may  also  operate  a  female 
department  under  the  name,  FrankHn  Female  Academy. 
February  25,  1836. 

Carrollton  Academy: 

In   the   county   of   Carroll.     Seven    trustees.     Property     386-88. 
limit,  $25,000.     Trustees  may  select  site  within  one  mile 
of  Carrollton,  erect  building,  appoint  teachers,  and  make 


APPENDIX  A  137 

Reference 

regulations  for  the  government  of  the  academy.     Shall 
meet  semiannually.     February  26,  1836. 

Richlands  Academy: 

In   the   county   of   Carroll.     Six   trustees.     Real   estate     377-78. 
limit,  $10,000;    personaHty,  $5,000.     Shall  select  a  site 
within  two  miles  of  Shongalo.     Self-perpetuating.     Shall 
employ  teachers,  make  regulations,  and  meet  twice  a  year. 
February  26,  1836. 

Judson  Institute: 

Fifteen  trustees.  Shall  be  located  at  Society  Ridge  in  382-84. 
Hinds  County.  Real  property  limit,  $200,000;  personal, 
$50,000.  Baptist  Education  Society  of  Mississippi  shall 
fill  aU  vacancies  in  the  board  of  trustees  and  control  the 
affairs  of  the  institution.  "So  soon  as  said  board  shall 
deem  it  expedient,  they  shall  have  and  enjoy  the  privileges 
of  a  college  and  may  confer  degrees."  February  27,  1836. 
Amendment,  February  18,  1840.  Names  new  board  and  i75- 
changes  location  to  Middleton,  Carroll  County. 

An  Academy: 

Sections  8-10  of  an  act  to  amend  an  act  to  authorize  the  15-20. 
trustees  of  school  lands  to  lease  the  sixteenth  sections  for 
ninety-nine  years  permits  T.  i,  R.  3,  W.  and  T.  2,  R.  2,  W. 
to  unite  the  interest  from  their  school  funds  for  the 
support  of  an  academy.  The  two  township  boards  are 
incorporated  as  one  board  for  the  government  of  the 
academy.     February  27,  1836. 

Paulding  Academy: 

In  Jasper  County.     Seven  trustees.     May  receive  dona-     384-85- 
tions  and  legacies,  employ  teachers,  make  regulations  for 
the  government   of   the   school.     Shall   locate   academy 
within  one  mile  of  Paulding.     February  27,  1836. 

Gallatin  Male  Academy: 

Nine  trustees  incorporated.  Property  limit,  $60,000.  389-91- 
Exempt  from  tax.  Self-perpetuating.  Same  powers  and 
privileges  given  to  Gallatin  Female  Academy  and  the  two 
boards  of  trustees  united  into  one  board  as  soon  as  the 
trustees  of  the  female  academy  accept  this  amendment. 
February  27,  1836. 

Lane  A  cademy: 

Eight  trustees  named  and  incorporated.     Property  Hmit:     S.A.,  I,  20. 
real,  $10,000;  personal,  $5,000.     Self-perpetuating.     May 
erect  houses,  employ  teachers,  and  make  regulations  for 
the  government  of  the  school.     January  20,  1837. 


138        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

Marion  Academy  {Latiderdale  County): 

Nine  trustees.     Real  property  limit,  $5,000;    personal,     118-20. 
$10,000.     Site  must  be  within  one  mile  of  Marion.     Self- 
perpetuating.    Trustees  employ  teachers  and  make  regu- 
lations for  government  of  academy.     May  9,  1837. 

Lewisville  (Louisville)  Academy: 

In  Winston  County.     Ten  trustees  named  and  incorpo-     127-28. 

rated.     Property  limit,  $50,000.     May  make  laws  for  the 

admission  of  new  members  to  the  corporation  and  for  the 

government  of  the  academy.    May  9,  1837. 

Amendment,  March  3,  1850:  Changes  name  to  Louisville     272. 

Female  Academy  and  excludes  male  students.     Makes 

trustees  elective  by  "contributors"  to  the  academy,  with 

one  vote  for  each  fifty  dollars  contributed. 

Amendment,  February  26, 1852 :  Authorizes  the  sale  of  the    397-98. 

female  academy  and  the  lending  of  the  money  at  interest 

until  the  trustees  deem  it  expedient  to  purchase  a  lot  and 

erect  a  building  for  a  male  academy. 

Hernando  Academy: 

In  De  Soto  County.  Nine  trustees  named  and  incor-  170-71. 
porated.  May  employ  agents,  preceptors,  and  teachers. 
May  receive  donations.  Regular  annual  meetings.  Shall 
locate  the  academy  within  one  mile  of  the  county  court- 
house. The  county  board  of  police  may  appropriate  the 
surplus  revenue  from  the  sale  of  lots  in  the  town  of 
Jefferson  for  the  erection  of  the  building.  May  11,  1837. 
Amendment,  February  9,  1839;  Changes  name  to  the  223-24. 
Hernando  Male  and  Female  Academy  and  requires  that 
there  shall  be  separate  buildings  for  the  male  and  female 
departments. 

Act   concerning   the  female   academy,   March   3,    1848:     476. 
License   fees   from   "tippKng   houses"   in   the   town   of 
Hernando  appropriated  to  the  female  academy. 
Act  of  February  28,  1850,  authorizes  trustees  to  transfer     209-10. 
the  Hernando  Female  Academy  to  any  society  or  denomi- 
nation that  offers  the  greatest  inducements  for  the  per- 
manent   prosperity    of    the    institution.     Such    society 
authorized  to  name  a  board  of  nine  trustees. 

Amendment,  January  23,  1852:    New  board  of  trustees    483-84. 
appointed  and  corporate  name  changed  to  the  Hernando 
Female  Institute. 

Amendment,  February  19,  1856:  Board  to  meet  on  its  own    424. 
adjournment ;  elect  officers  annually. 

Greensboro  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Five   trustees   named   and   incorporated.     May   receive     178-79. 
donations  and  legacies,  make  regulations  for  government 


APPENDIX  A  139 

Reference 

of  the  academy  and  for  filling  vacancies  in  their  own  body. 
May  II,  1837. 

Sharon  Female  Academy: 

Fifteen  trustees  named  and  incorporated  as  trustees  for  223-24. 
both  Sharon  College  for  men  and  the  academy.  May 
make  rules  for  the  institutions,  employ  teachers  and 
dismiss  them  at  pleasure.  Self-perpetuating.  "So  soon 
as  said  board  shall  deem  it  expedient,  they  shall  have  and 
enjoy  the  privileges  of  a  college  in  the  male  department, 
and  the  power  of  conferring  degrees  in  both  departments." 
May  12,  1837. 

Pinckney  Academy: 

Seven  trustees.     May  make  laws  for  the  admission  of  new     304-5- 
members  to  the  corporation  and  for  the  government  of  the 
academy.     Self-perpetuating.     Shall  hold   regular  semi- 
annual meetings.    Location:  town  of  Pinckney.     May  13, 
1837. 

Mount  Carmel  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Twelve  trustees.     Real  property  limit,  $5,000;   personal,     310-11- 
$3,000.     Self -perpetuating.    May  employ  professors  and 
teachers,   and   make   rules   for   the  government   of   the 
academy  and  for  the  promotion  of  learning  and  morality 
among  the  students.     May  13,  1837. 

Oxford  Male  and  Female  academies: 

Seven  trustees  incorporated  for  the  male  academy,  and  a  75-77- 
separate  board  of  seven  for  the  female  academy.  Both 
boards  shall  employ  teachers  and  necessary  assistants,  pay 
salaries  agreed  upon,  make  regulations  for  the  admission 
of  new  members  to  the  corporation  and  for  the  government 
of  the  academy,  and  hold  regular  semiannual  meetings. 
February  2,  1838. 

Tuscahoma  Academy  {Tallahatchie  County): 

Nine  trustees  named  and  incorporated.     Real  property     77- 
lim.it,  Sio,ooo;  personal,  $5,000.     May  employ  professors 
and  teachers  and  make  regulations  for  the  government  of 
the  academy.     February  2,  1838. 

Colbert  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Stock  company  incorporated.    Authorized  capital,  850,000     202-6. 
in  shares  of  S50.     Property  limit,  S6o,ooo.     Stockholders 
elect  seven  trustees  annually,  who  shall  employ  teachers, 


140        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

fix  tuition  rates,  and  make  rules  for  the  academy.     Shall 
distribute  net  profits  annually  as  dividends.     February  15, 
1838. 
Pontotoc  Female  Academy: 

Seven  trustees    named    and    incorporated.     May  make     229-31. 
regulations  for  the  management  of  the  interest  and  concern 
of  the  academy.     Self-perpetuating.     February  15,  1838. 

Cofeeville  Male  atid  Female  Academy  {Yalobusha  County): 

Six  trustees  incorporated  with  all  rights  contained  in  the  195-96. 
charter  of  Carrollton  Academy  and  subject  to  like  restric- 
tions. Trustees  of  school  lands  in  T.  24,  R.  6,  E.  shall  pay 
over  to  trustees  of  the  academy  the  proceeds  from  the 
lease  of  the  sixteenth  section,  which  shall  be  appUed  on  the 
erection  of  the  academy  building.     January  26,  1839. 

Holly  Springs  Female  Academy: 

Board  of  trustees  made  self -perpetuating.     Make  regula-     202-3. 
tions  for  the  government  of  the  institution  and  employ 
faculty.     January  30,  1839. 

Amendment,  February  7,  1842:   Name  changed  to  Holly     219. 
Springs  Female  Institute. 

Chulahoma  Female  Academy: 

Thirteen  trustees  named  as  incorporators,  with  the  same  206-7. 
powers  as  are  given  in  this  act  to  the  Chulahoma  College 
for  males.  (These  are:  to  own  real  and  personal  estate, 
make  rules  for  the  government  of  the  institution,  employ 
teachers  and  dismiss  them  at  pleasure,  and  confer  degrees.) 
January  30,  1839. 

Farmington  A  cademy: 

Seven  trustees.     Property  limit,  $150,000.     Trustees  may     208-9. 
build   and   equip   house  near   Farmington,   Tishomingo 
County,  employ  teachers,  and  make  regulations  for  the 
academy.     January  30,  1839. 

Wyatt  Male  and  Female  academies: 

Seven  trustees  incorporated.     One  board  for  both  acade-     213-14. 
mies.     May  make  rules  for  the  government  of  the  schools 
and  for  promoting  morality,  virtue,  and  learning  among 
the  students.     January  30,  1839. 

Wahalak  Female  Academy: 

Eleven  trustees  named  and  incorporated  for  the  academy.     220-22. 
May  make  by-laws  for  the  government  and  management 
of  the  institution.     Self-perpetuating.     February  9,  1839. 


APPENDIX  A  141 

Reference 

Oak  Hill  Academy: 

Six  trustees  incorporated  with  same  powers  as  trustees  of     220-22. 
Wahalak  by  the  same  act.     February  9,  1839. 

Chulahoma  College  and  Commercial  Institute: 

Eight  trustees.     May  employ  and  dismiss  teachers  and     227-29, 
make  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  institution 
and  for  promoting  learning,  morality,  and  virtue  among 
the   students.     Shall   hold   semiannual   meetings.     Self- 
perpetuating.     February  9,  1839. 

De  Kalh  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Stockholders  incorporated.  Capital  stock,  $10,000,  in  239-42. 
shares  of  $10.  Property  limit,  $10,000.  Stockholders 
elect  five  trustees  at  annual  meeting,  casting  one  vote  for 
each  share  of  stock.  Trustees  shall  provide  house  or 
houses  for  the  academy,  employ  teachers,  and  fix  salaries. 
Surplus  shall  be  applied  to  completing  or  erecting  and 
equipping  necessary  buildings  before  any  dividend  shall 
be  declared.     February  9,  1839. 

Woodville  Classical  School: 

Nineteen  trustees  incorporated.     Property  limit  $50,000.     251-53. 
Presidents,  professors,  and  students  exempt  from  militia 
duty,  except  in  case  of  actual  invasion.     Self-perpetuating. 
Exempt  from  tax.     February  14,  1839. 

Macon  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Six  trustees.     May  provide  buildings,  employ  teachers,     256-59. 
make  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  academy  and 
for  the  promotion  of  learning,  morality,  and  virtue  among 
the  students.     Shall  hold  regular  semiannual  meetings. 
Self-perpetuating.     February  14,  1839. 

Mount  Pleasant  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Five   trustees   incorporated   in   same   act   with   Macon     256-59. 

Academy  with  same  powers  and  restrictions.    February  14. 

1839- 

Shugualak  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Five  trustees  incorporated  and  given  same  powers  and     256-59. 

restrictions  as  trustees  of  Macon  Academy.     February  14, 

1839. 

Plymouth  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Five  trustees  named  and  incorporated.  Real  property  357-58. 
limit,  $10,000;  personal,  $5,000.  Self-perpetuating.  The 
trustees  of  T.  19,  R.  17,  E.  may  at  their  discretion  apply  the 
rents  from  the  sixteenth  section  to  the  use  of  the  academy 
until  a  majority  of  the  resident  heads  of  families  direct 
otherwise.     February  15,  1839. 


142        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

Emery  Academy: 

Twelve  trustees.     May  select  location,  erect  house,  employ    3  78-80. 

teachers,  make  laws  for  government  of  the  academy  and 

for  promoting  learning,  morality,  and  virtue  among  the 

students.     Self -perpetuating.     February  15,  1839. 
Grenada  Male  and  Female  Academies: 

One  board  of  trustees  for  both  academies.     Self-perpetua-     380-81. 

ting.     May  make  regulations  for  the  government  of  the 

academy  and  for  the  promotion  of  learning,  virtue,  and 

morality.     February  15,  1839. 

Amendment,  February  6,  1841:   Named  separate  boards     258-59. 

for  each  academy  and  authorized  the  use  of  the  township 

common  school  funds  for  their  support. 

Original  act  and  the  amendment  repealed  on  petition  of     174-76. 

the  trustees  of  the  academies,  March  11,  1856.     Funds 

transferred  to  township  trustees  for  use  of  common  schools. 

Almucha  Academy  and  Free  Church: 

Stockholders  incorporated.  Capital  stock,  $5,000,  in  134-37. 
shares  of  $5  .  00.  Stockholders  elect  five  trustees  annually. 
Trustees  employ  teachers,  fix  rates,  and  make  rules  for  the 
admission  of  students.  Any  surplus  that  may  be  accrued 
shall  be  applied  to  the  completion  of  buildings  and  equip- 
ment before  any  dividend  may  be  declared.  This  act  may 
be  repealed  or  amended  without  the  consent  of  the 
corporation.     January  27,  1840. 

Thickwoods  Academy: 

Six  trustees.     May  appoint  professors  and  dismiss  them     148-49. 
at  pleasure  and  make  regulations  for  government  of  the 
academy.     Shall  hold  three  regular  meetings  annually. 
Shall  serve  one  year  and  until  their  successors  are  elected. 
January  27,  1840. 

Greensboro  Male  and  Female  Academies: 

Five  trustees.  Real  property  limit,  $5,000;  personal,  157-59. 
$2,000.  Self-perpetuating.  Shall  make  regulations  for 
the  government  of  the  academy,  and  with  the  consent  of 
the  principal,  shall  fix  rates  for  tuition,  which  shall  be 
posted  on  the  door  of  the  academy  and  of  the  county 
court-house.  Shall  receive  the  Sixteenth  Section  Fund  of 
T.  19,  R.  9,  E.  to  apply  on  the  building.     January  29, 1840. 

Gallatin  Academy: 

Nine  trustees.     Property  limit;   real,  $10,000;   personal,     66-68. 
$5,000.     Self -perpetuating.     May   employ   teachers  and 
make  regulations  for  government  of  the  academy.     Febru- 
ary 3,  1840. 


APPENDIX  A  143 

Reference 

Woodville  Female  Academy: 

Nine  trustees  named  and  incorporated.     Property  limit,     161. 
$50,000.     Exempt  from  tax.     February  3,  1840. 

Constantine  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Francis  L.  Constantine,  four  others,  and  their  associates  162-63. 
incorporated  for  the  purposes  of  education  and  advance- 
ment of  the  good  morals  of  males  and  females.  Property 
limit,  $10,000.  May  make  regulations,  prescribe  the 
course  of  study,  attend  examinations,  and  regulate  the 
government  and  instruction  of  pupils.  The  corporation 
shall  elect  a  board  of  five  trustees  annually.  February  6, 
1840. 

Rienzi  Academy: 

Five  trustees.     Property  limit,  $50,000.     Shall  be  located     171-73- 
within  one  mile  of  present  site  of  post  ofifice  of  Rienzi. 
Trustees  shall  employ  suitable  teachers  and  pay  salaries 
agreed  upon.     Shall  make  by-laws  for  the  admission  of 
new  members  to  the  corporation.     February  15,  1840. 

Vicksburg  Female  Academy: 

Eighteen  incorporators.  May  make  laws  for  the  govern-  131-32. 
ment  of  the  academy  and  for  continuing  the  succession  of 
the  corporation.  Property  limit,  $50,000.  Rents  from 
sixteenth  section  of  the  township  appropriated  to  the 
payment  of  tuition  in  the  academy  of  such  female  orphan 
children  as  the  trustees  shall  select.     February  18,  1840. 

Columbia  Academy: 

Nine  trustees.     No  limit  to  property,  provided  all  proceeds     2  23-24. 

go  to  the  academy.     Shall  be  entitled  to  all  appropriations 

that  by  the  laws  of  the  state  such  institutions  are  entitled 

to  from  fines,  forfeitures,  or  any  other  source.     Trustees 

shall  adopt  a  constitution,  in  which  they  shall  determine 

the  mode  of  selecting  their  successors.     February  2  2 , 1 840. 

Wahalak  Male  Academy: 

Stockholders  incorporated.    Capital  stock,  $10,000.    Shall     263-65. 
elect  five  trustees  annually,  each  stockholder  having  one 
vote  for  each  share  of  stock.     Property  limit,  $10,000. 
January  14,  1841. 
Commerce  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Six  trustees  incorporated  and  given  all  powers   granted     281. 
to  Tuscahoma  Academy,  February  2,  1838.     January  27, 
1841. 


144        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

Williamsburg  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Seven    trustees.     Property  limit,   $20,000.     Shall  make     248-49. 
by-laws  for  the  admission  of  new  members.     Shall  hold 
regular  meetings  four  times  a  year.     All  fines,  penalties, 
forfeiture,  and  amercements  in  Covington  County  appro- 
priated to  the  academy.     February  5,  1841. 

Oakland  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Eleven  trustees  incorporated  with  all  rights,  privileges,     254. 
powers  and  immunities  granted  to  CarroUton  Academy, 
February  26,  1836,  and  subject  to  like  restrictions.     Feb- 
ruary 5,  1841. 

Charter  repealed  and  academy  re-incorporated,  February     162-64. 
22,  1842.     Stock  company.     Authorized  capital,  $10,000  , 

in  shares  of  $10.     Stockholders  elect  a  board  of  eleven 
trustees  annually. 

Marion  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Stock  company.  Capital  stock,  $10,000  in  shares  of  $10.  166-68. 
Stockholders  make  by-laws  and  elect  a  board  of  seven 
trustees  annually.  Shall  receive  moneys  that  may  have 
or  may  accrue  in  Lauderdale  County  under  an  act  for  the 
benefit  of  education,  approved  February  14, 1839.  Febru- 
ary 23,  1842. 

Aberdeen  Male  Academy: 

Seven  trustees  incorporated,  who  shall  serve  temporarily     89-91. 
until  their  successors  shall  be  elected  by  the  stockholders. 
Stockholders  shall  elect  a  board  of  trustees  annually. 
July  25,  1843. 

Raleigh  Academy: 

Six  trustees.     Property  limit,  $10,000.     Self-perpetuating.     94-95. 
All  fines,  forfeitures,  and  amercements  arising  in  Smith 
County  appropriated  to  the  academy.     July  25, 1843. 

Friendship  Male  A  cademy  {Panola  County) : 

Six  trustees  incorporated.     Property  limit,  $10,000.     May     253-54. 
make  regulations  for  admission  of  new  members  to  the 
corporation.     Charter  may  be  amended  or  repealed  at  the 
will  of  the  legislature.     January  13,  1844. 

Houston  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Seven  trustees.     May  make  regulations  for  the  admission     261-62. 
of  new  members  to  the  corporation,  for  the  government 
of  the  academy,  and  for  the  promotion  of  morality,  virtue, 
and  learning  among  the  students.     The  legislature  may 
alter,  amend,  or  repeal  this  act  at  will.     January  24,  1844. 


APPENDIX  A  145 

Reference 

Decatur  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Stock    company.     Capital    $10,000    in    shares    of    $10.     254-56. 

Property  limit,  $10,000.     Stockholders  shall  elect  a  board 

of  nine  members  annually.     The  academy  shall  receive 

all  moneys  that  have  accrued  or  may  accrue  under  the  act 

for  the  benefit  of  education,  approved  February  14,  1839. 

This  charter  may  be  amended  or  repealed  at  the  will  of 

the  legislature.     January  26,  1844. 

Lexington  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Five  incorporators.     Property  limit,  $20,000.     Members     266-67. 
of  the  corporation  may  make  rules  for  the  admission  of 
new  members.     The  corporation  shall  elect  annually  a 
board  of  five  trustees.     This  act  may  be  altered,  amended, 
or  repealed  at  the  will  of  the  legislature.    January  30, 1 844. 

Black  Hawk  Male  and  Female  academies: 

Five  trustees  named  for  the  male  academy.  Demetrius  430-31. 
Bland,  H.  S.  Farmer,  and  their  associates  made  trustees  of 
the  female  academy.  The  two  boards  shall  constitute  a 
joint  corporation,  with  the  right  to  own  property  to 
$10,000.  They  shall  elect  teachers,  prescribe  studies, 
attend  examinations,  and  regulate  the  instruction  of  the 
students.  The  trustees  named  in  the  act  shall  serve  until 
January  i,  1847.  Citizens  of  the  town  shall  elect  boards 
of  trustees  annually.     February  5,  1846. 

Aberdeen  Female  Academy: 

Nine  trustees  incorporated.  Self-perpetuating.  May  389-91. 
select  site,  erect  building,  employ  teachers,  pay  salaries, 
dismiss  teachers  at  pleasure.  Shall  make  regulations  for 
the  government  of  the  academy  and  for  the  promotion  of 
learning,  morality,  and  virtue  among  the  students. 
Exempt  from  state,  county,  and  municipal  tax.  Feb- 
ruary II,  1846. 

New  charter,  February  5,  1848,  incorporates  the  academy     483-84. 
as  a  stock  company.     Subscribers  shall  elect  a  board  of 
nine  trustees,  arranging  terms  so  that  one-third  go  out 
each  year.     School  lot  and  improvements  exempt  from 
tax.     Charter  of  February  11,  1846,  repealed. 

Pontotoc  Male  Academy: 

Seven  trustees.     May  own  property  and  make  regulations     370-71. 
for  the  government  of  the  academy.     Self-perpetuating. 
February  11,  1846. 


146        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

Zion  Seminary: 

Six  trustees.  May  own  real  and  personal  estate,  provided  367-68. 
annual  income  therefrom  does  not  exceed  $10,000.  Dona- 
tions shall  be  put  at  interest  on  good  security  and  the 
interest  alone  be  used  for  the  support  of  the  academy. 
This  act  may  be  repealed  at  the  will  of  the  legislature. 
February  11,  1846. 

St.  Thomas'  Hall: 

The  rector,  senior  and  junior  warden,  and  the  two  oldest  33C>-3i- 
vestrymen  of  Christ's  Church  at  Holly  Springs  made 
ex  officio  members  of  a  corporate  body  with  Henry 
Anderson  and  B.  W.  Williams.  The  ex  officio  members 
may  fill  vacancies  caused  by  the  death  or  resignation  of 
Anderson,  WilHams,  or  their  successors.  May  own 
property  to  $50,000,  provided  it  be  employed  for  educa- 
tional purposes.     February  20,  1846. 

Jackson  Male  Academy  and  the  Jackson  Female  Academy: 

State's  right  and  interest  in  College  Square,  College  Green,  359-6o. 
and  certain  other  lots  in  the  city  of  Jackson  granted  to  a 
board  of  trustees,  which  is  incorporated  and  required  to 
erect  two  substantial  brick  buildings  and  designate  them 
as  the  Jackson  Male  Academy  and  the  Jackson  Female 
Academy.  Said  houses  shall  become  free  schools,  when- 
ever the  citizens  and  corporate  authorities  desire  and  shall 
provide  means  of  sustenance.  The  governor  of  the  state 
shall  fill  all  vacancies  in  the  board.     March  5,  1846. 

Macon  Female  Institute: 

Fifteen  trustees  incorporated  for ' '  Macon  Female  Institute  46 7-69  • 
of  the  Alabama  Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  Noxubee  County."  May 
establish  such  chairs  as  they  deem  advisable  and  elect 
professors,  who  shall  conduct  and  govern  the  institution. 
May  confer  degrees,  and  may  receive  funds  in  trust  for  a 
permanent  endowment.  Property  limit,  $100,000.  Janu- 
ary 17,  1848. 

Canton  Male  Academy: 

Six  trustees.     Property  limit,  $10,000.    Location,  within 

one  mile  of  Canton.     Trustees  may  appoint  and  remove 

teachers   at   pleasure,   and   shall    make   regulations   for 

the    government    of    the    academy.     Self-perpetuating,        469-72. 

provided  no  one  shall  be  eligible  for  membership  of  the 

board  who  lives  more  than  four  miles  from  Canton  and  is 

not  a  freeholder.     February  4,  1848. 


APPENDIX  A  147 

Reference 

Raymond  Female  Institute: 

The  female  department  of  Raymond  Academy  incorpo-  472-73- 
rated  under  the  above  name.  Seven  trustees.  Self- 
perpetuating.  Shall  hold  the  house  and  lot  in  Raymond 
known  as  the  female  academy,  and  may  acquire  other 
property.  When  the  curriculum  of  the  institute  has  been 
so  enlarged  as  ''to  embrace  a  complete  course  in  female 
education,"  the  institution  may  issue  diplomas.  Febru- 
ary 28,  1846. 

Columbus  Female  Institute: 

Twelve  incorporators.  Stock  company  with  authorized  477-8i- 
capital  of  $50,000.  Stockholders  elect  trustees,  who  shall 
elect  a  principal.  Principal  shall  elect  his  own  assistants, 
but  there  must  be  one  teacher  in  the  faculty  for  each 
twenty-five  pupils.  Trustees  make  regulations  for  govern- 
ment of  the  institute.  Exempt  from  tax,  and  the  square 
in  which  the  institute  is  situated  shall  be  released  from  the 
annual  lease  so  long  as  it  is  used  for  educational  purposes.^ 
March  4,  1848. 

Enterprise  Academy: 

Seven  trustees.    Perpetual  succession.     May  make  regu-    482. 
lations  for  the  government  of  the  academy.     March  4, 
1848. 

Pleasant  Hill  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Five  trustees.    Perpetual  succession.     May  make  regula-    482-83. 
tions  for  the  government  of  the  academy.     Property  limit, 
$15,000.     March  4,  1848. 

Yazoo  Classical  Hall: 

Fifteen  visitors  incorporated.     Property  limit,  $100,000.     461-62. 
May  make  laws  for  the  election  of  officers,  admission  of 
new  members,  and  the  government  of  the  institution. 
May  establish  a  collegiate  institution  and  issue  certificates 
or  confer  degrees.     February  i,  1850. 

Pearl  River  Female  Academy: 

Eight  trustees  with  the  same  rights  given  to  Pearl  River     314. 
Academy  by  act  of  February   15,   1833.     Location,  in 
T.  7,  R.  2,  E.  in  Madison  County.     February  18,  1850. 

Polkville  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Trustees    named    and    incorporated.     Property    limit,    395-96. 

$10,000.  Sixteenth  section  funds  of  the  township  and  the 

^  The  school  was  located  upon  the  sixteenth  section  of  the  township. 


148        EDUCATION.AX  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

revenue  from  liquor  licenses  arising  within  the  town  of 
Polkville  appropriated  to  the  academy.  Self -perpetuating. 
Board  of  trustees  shall  elect  a  principal,  who  shall  choose 
his  own  assistants.  There  shall  be  one  teacher  to  each 
twenty-five  pupils.     February  19,  1850. 

Salem  High  School: 

Incorporates  the  Salem  High  School  Association.     Prop-    452-53- 
erty  limit,  $30,000.     May  make  rules  for  the  admission 
of  new  members.     Subscribers  to  the  association  not  Kable 
beyond  the  time  specified  when  making  the  subscription. 
March  4,  1850. 

Altnuch  Academy: 

Incorporates  the  school  "on  the  land  of  D.  N.  Cormack,  403-4. 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Old  Town  (Almucha)."  Five 
trustees.  Self-perpetuating.  May  employ  teachers  and 
remove  them  at  pleasure.  Shall  examine  students,  make 
rules,  and  see  that  all  denominations  receive  like  treat- 
ment. Property  limit,  $5,000.  Sale  of  distilled  or 
spirituous  liquors  within  a  half  mile  of  the  academy 
prohibited.     March  6,  1850. 

Kemper  College: 

Governor,  president  of  Senate,  speaker  of  House,  and    443-45. 
judges  of  High  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals  ex  officio 
members  of  board  of  trustees.     C.  P.  Smith  and  Samuel 
Batchelder,  proprietors,  may  appoint  additional  trustees 
and  fill  vacancies.     May  confer  degrees.     March  7,  1850. 

Euclid  Male  and  Female  A  cademy: 

Trustees  named  and  made  a  corporate  body.     May  make  Called 

by-laws  and  regulations.     Property  hmit,  $30,000.     Self-  Session, 

perpetuating  board.     November  30,  1850.  34,  35- 

Choctaw  Collegiate  Institute: 

Incorporates  trustees.   May  employ  teachers  and  remove     221;  431. 
them  at  pleasure.     May  confer  degrees.     Choctaw  Baptist 
Association  shall  fill  all  vacancies  in  board.     Township 
school  trustees  may  transfer  i .  05  acres  of  school  land  to 
the  Institute.     January  27,  1852. 

Newton  Institute: 

At  Newton  Place  in  Wilkinson  County.     For  the  instruc-     458-59- 
tion  of  young  ladies  in  literature,  science,  and  arts.     May 
confer  degrees.     Trustees  may  elect  new  members  of  their 
body.     Exempt  from  tax.     February  2,  1852. 


APPENDIX  A 


149 


Reference 

Enon  High  School: 

Incorporates  the  Enon  High  School  Association.     Prop-    411-13- 
erty  limit,  $50,000.     May  admit  new  members.     Sub- 
scribers liable  only  for  the  time  specified  when  subscription 
is  made.     Sale  of  vinous  and  spirituous  liquors  prohibited 
within  one  mile  of  the  school.     February  5,  1852. 

Yalobusha  Baptist  Institute: 

Temporary  board  named  to  serve  until  meeting  of  the  407-8. 
Yalobusha  Baptist  Association.  Property  limit,  $50,000, 
in  addition  to  an  endowment  Hmited  at  $100,000,  which  the 
trustees  are  authorized  to  raise  by  the  sale  of  scholarships, 
by  donation,  or  otherwise.  Association  shall  elect  a  board 
of  trustees  annually.    Exempt  from  tax.    February  5, 1852. 

Cold  Water  Baptist  Female  Seminary: 

Located  at  Chulahoma,  Marshall  County.     Trustees  self-     404. 
perpetuating,  but  in  filling  vacancies  must  have  approval 
of  the  Cold  Water  Baptist  Association.     Property  limit, 
$50,000.    May  confer  degrees  and  diplomas.    February  20, 
1852. 

Collegiate  High  School  of  the  I.O.O.F.: 

Established  by  Covenant  Lodge  No.  20,  and  McKindree     375-76. 
Lodge  No.  32,  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
in  the  city  of  Columbus.     Trustees  incorporated.     Prop- 
erty limit,  $50,000.     February  25,  1852. 

Maple  Spring  Academy: 

In  Tippah  County.     Trustees  named  and  incorporated.     287-88. 
Property  limit,  $5,000.     February  28,  1852. 

Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows  High  School: 

Trustees  named  for  one  year.     Successors  shall  be  elected     290-92. 
annually   by   Snowsville   Lodge,   No.    119.     May   grant 
diplomas  and  confer  degrees.     February  28,  1852. 

Bascom  Female  Seminary: 

Names  and  incorporates  nine  trustees.     Self-perpetuating.     292-93. 
Exempt  from  taxation.     March  3,  1852. 

Pleasant  Ridge  Male  and  Female  A  cademy: 

Located  in  Tippah  County.     March  12,  1852.  315-16. 

Middleton  Female  Seminary: 

Stock  company  incorporated.  Limited  to  thirty  years.  326-27. 
Property  limit,  $100,000.  Stockholders  elect  annually  a 
board  of  seven  trustees,  four  of  whom  must  be  stock- 
holders. May  grant  diplomas  and  degrees.  Stockholders 
manage  and  control  the  financial  affairs  of  the  seminary. 
March  15,  1852. 


150        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

Greenwood  Female  Institute: 

In  the  county  of  Jasper.     Property  limit,  $15,000.     March     331-32- 

15,  1852. 

Southern  Scientific  Institute: 

In  Claiborne  County.  E.  N.  Elliot,  proprietor,  incorpo-  343-44- 
rator.  Power  to  appoint  trustees,  provided  the  governor 
and  the  judges  of  the  High  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals 
shall  be  ex  officio  members.  E.  N.  Elliot  and  other 
professors  shall  constitute  the  faculty  and  shall  have 
power  to  confer  degrees,  and  make  rules  for  the  discipline 
and  management  of  the  institute.  March  16,  1852. 
Amendment,  February  28,  1854:  Becomes  Planters' 
College. 

Simpson  Male  and  Female  Seminary: 

Incorporates  trustees  and  confers  upon  them  the  power    345. 
to  govern  the  institution.    Property  Hmit,  $5,000.    March 

16,  1852. 

Canton  Female  Institute: 

Names    and    incorporates    trustees.     Self -perpetuating.    90-91. 
Property  limit,  $60,000.     May  issue  certificates  of  scholar- 
ship or  confer  degrees.    October  19,  1852. 

Crawfordsville  Male  and  Female  institutes: 

In  Lowndes  County.    One  board  incorporated  for  both     153-54. 
schools.    Property  limit,  $25,000.    May  confer  diplomas. 
Stockholders  meet  annually.    October  21,  1852. 

Presbyterian  Female  Collegiate  Institute: 

Nine  trustees,   one- third  of   whom  go  out   each  year.     139-40. 
Their  successors  shall  be  appointed  by  the  presbytery  of 
Chickasaw.    Property  Hmit,  $40,000.    October  14,  1852. 

Monroe  Female  Institute: 

Trustees    named    and    incorporated.     Self -perpetuating.     485-86. 
Exempt  from  tax.     Confer  degrees.     January  26,  1854. 

Port  Gibson  Collegiate  Academy: 

In  Claiborne  County.    Self-perpetuating  board  of  trustees.     418-19. 

Property  limit,  $50,000.     May  grant  diplomas.     February 

I,  1854. 
Good  Hope  Academy: 

In  Leake  County.    Trustees  to  be  elected  annually  by  the    394. 

heads  of  families  of  T.  9,  R.  6  and  T.  9,  R.  7.     Sale  of 

vinous  and  spirituous  liquors  prohibited  within  one  mile  of 

the  academy.     February  2,  1852. 


APPENDIX  A  151 

Reference 

Friendship  Academy  (Panola  County): 

Names    and    incorporates    trustees.     Self-perpetuating.     310. 
May  appoint  president  of  the  academy  and  make  laws 
for  the  government  of  the  institution.     February  4,  1854. 

Hill  City  Collegiate  Institute: 

The  institute  established  by  R.  T.  W.  Daniel  in  Vicksburg     207. 
is  incorporated,  and  said  R.  T.  W.  Daniel  and  associates 
and  their  heirs  and  assigns  are  declared  a  body  politic  and 
corporate.     Property  limit,  $20,000.     February  18,  1854. 

Red  Banks  Female  Seminary: 

Trustees  self -perpetuating.    May  grant  diplomas  on  com-     253-54. 
mencement  day,  "which  shall  be  on  the  last  Friday  in 
June  of  each  year,  as  in  other  seminaries,  institutions,  or 
colleges  in  this  state."     February  25,  1854. 

Central  Female  Institute: 

Trustees  named  and  incorporated.    May  make  rules  for     238-39. 
the  election  of  new  members  of  board.     Property  Hmit, 
$20,000.     February  27,  1854. 

Byhalia  Female  Institute: 

Trustees  incorporated  and  made  self-perpetuating.    Prop-    251-52. 

erty  limit,  $20,000.     February  27,  1854. 

Octograde  Seminary: 

Trustees  named  and  incorporated.     May  make  rules  for    337-38. 

continuing    their    succession.    Property    limit,    $5,000. 

March  i,  1854. 
Westminster  Academy: 

In  county  of  Tippah.     Property  limit,  $10,000.     Seven    429-30. 

trustees,  elected  annually  by  the  patrons.     Shall  receive 

pro  rata  share  of  common  school  fund  of  Tippah  County. 

March  i,  1854. 

Union  Seminary: 

Incorporates  stockholders.  Property  limit,  $20,000.  Privi-  428-29. 
lege  of  divine  worship  accorded  to  each  religious  denomi- 
nation that  subscribes  for  $300  worth  of  stock.  Stock- 
holders shall  elect  seven  directors,  who  shall  have  power 
of  trustees  of  the  seminary.  Board  of  police  may  subscribe 
for  stock  out  of  any  school  fund  under  its  lawful  control. 
March  2,  1854. 

Cofeeville  Female  Institute: 

Incorporates  trustees.     Property  limit,  real,  $3,000;  per-     206-7. 
sonal,  $1,000.    Exempt  from  taxation.    Self-perpetuating. 
March  2,  1854. 


152        EDUCATION.\L  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

Okolona  Female  Institute: 

Incorporates  trustees.    Self-perpetuating.    Property  limit,     388-89. 

$30,000.     January  23,  1856. 
Eastport  Female  Institute: 

Located  in  Tishomingo  County.     May  confer  degrees  and     210-11. 

diplomas.     February  20,  1856. 
Calhoun  Institute: 

Incorporated   and  given  power   to   confer  degrees   and     169. 

diplomas.     February  23,  1856. 
Byhalia  Male  Academy: 

In  town  of  Byhalia,  Marshall  County.     Property  limit,     219-20. 

$5,000.     May    confer   degrees.     Shall    appoint    semian- 
nually a  board  of  visitors.     Exempt  from  tax.     Sale  of 

vinous    and    spirituous    liquors    prohibited  within   five 

miles.     February  23,  1856. 
Okolona  Male  Academy: 

Names  and  incorporates  a  board  of  trustees,  who  are  made     402. 

self-perpetuating.     February  29,  1856. 
Amite  Female  Seminary: 

Property  limit,  $50,000     May  confer  degrees.     Board  of     317-18. 

visitors  shall  be  appointed  annually  by  the  Mississippi 

Baptist  Association.     March  4,  1856. 
Canaan  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

In  Tippah  County.     Names  and  incorporates  trustees.     403. 

Self-perpetuating.     Property  limit,   $10,000.     March   8, 

1856. 
Oak  Bowery  A  cademy: 

Incorporates  a  board  of  trustees.     Property  limit,  $15,000.     171. 

March  11,  1856. 
Fayette  Female  Academy: 

Names   temporary   board   of   trustees.     Property   limit,     88-90. 

$250,000.     Board  of  twelve  trustees  to  be  elected  by  the 

Mississippi  Presbytery,  so  that  terms  of  one-third  shall 

expire  each  year.     Presbytery  shall  have  supervisory  and 

visitorial  powers.     Proceeds  of  estray  sales  and  fines  for 

violation  of  license  laws  in  Jefferson  County  appropriated 

to  the  academy.     November  19,  1857. 
Spring  Ridge  Female  Seminary: 

(Incorporated  by  the  governor.)^     Eight  trustees.     Self-     Rec.  of 

perpetuating.     May    confer     degrees.     Property     Hmit,     Inc.,  32. 

$50,000.     June  7,  1858. 

'  See  p.  64  and  footnote. 


APPENDIX  A 


Reference 


Central  Academy: 

(Incorporated  by  the  governor.)     In  JSIadison  County.     Rec.  of 

Stock  company.     May  have  separate  departments  for     Inc.,  50. 

sexes.     Capital  stock,  $20,000  in  shares  of  $100.     Janu- 
ary I,  1859. 
Hillshoro  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

(Incorporated  by  the  governor.)     In  the  county  of  Scott.     Rec.  of 

Fifteen   trustees.     Make   regulations   for   the   academy.     Inc.,  61. 

Self-perpetuating.     ]\Iay  elect  teachers  and  displace  them 

at  pleasure.     February  26,  1859. 
luka  Female  Institute: 

(Incorporated  by  governor.)     Five  trustees  named  and     Rec.  of 

incorporated.     Make  regulations  for  the  academy.     May    Inc.,  67. 

confer  degrees.     May  11,  1859. 
Westville  Seminary: 

(Incorporated  by  the  governor.)     Nineteen  incorporators.     Rec.  of 

Stock    company.     Limited    to    five   years.     May   make     Inc.,  79. 

regulations  for  the  academy,  fix  rates  of  tuition,   and 

enforce  collection  of  the  same.    August  9,  1859. 
Rose  Hill  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

Five  trustees  named  and  given  general  corporate  powers.     Rec.  of 

May  make  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  academy.     Inc.,  91. 

December  14,  1859. 
Vernal  Male  and  Female  A  cademy: 

In   Greene   County,     Property  limit,   $20,000.     Sale  of     197-98. 

liquor  prohibited  within  ten  miles  of  the  academy  or  ten 

miles  of  Salem  High  School.     February  3,  i860. 
Wilson  Hall: 

In  Marshall  County.     Trustees  named  and  given  per-     264-65. 

petual  succession.     Property  limit,  $50,000.     May  confer 

degrees.     February  10,  i860. 
Aberdeen  Masonic  Male  High  School: 

Property  limit,  fifty  acres  of  land  with  the  improvements     403-4- 

thereon  and  personal  estate  to  $20,000.     Trustees  shall  be 

elected  by  Aberdeen  Lodge  No.  32  and  Euphemia  Royal 

Arch  Chapter  No.  13.     February  10,  i860. 
Amite  County  Female  Academy: 

Located  in  town  of  Liberty.     May  own  real  and  personal     409-10. 

property.     May  confer  degrees.     February  10,  i860. 
Willard  Male  and  Female  academies: 

Located  at  Flewellen's  Cross  Roads  in  De  Soto  County.     417-18. 

Self-perpetuating     board    of     trustees.      Exempt    from 


154        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

taxation.  Sale  of  vinous  and  spirituous  liquors  prohibited 
within  two  and  one-half  miles.  President  and  professors 
ex  ofl&cio  members  of  the  board,  except  in  matters  relating 
to  them  personally.     February  lo,  i860. 

Masonic  Female  Seminary: 

In  Marshall  County.     Trustees  given  "usual  privileges    438. 
granted    to    such    institutions."     May    confer    degrees. 
February  10,  i860. 

Brandon  State  Military  Institute: 

Governor  of  the  state  and  his  successors  made  a  member    355-56. 

of  the  board  of  trustees.     Self-perpetuating  board,  which 

may  increase  its  numbers  to  twenty.     Governor  authorized 

to  lend  firearms  to  trustees,  provided  they  shall  give  bond 

for  the  return  of  same  in  good  condition.     February  11, 

i860. 

Bethany  Male  and  Female  Institute: 

(Incorporated  by  the  governor.)     Nine  trustees,  elders  of    Rec.  of 
the  Bethany  Church.     Louisiana  Presbytery  shall  pre-     Inc.,  117. 
scribe  terms  of  admittance  and  appoint  successors  to  the 
trustees.    April  7,  i860. 

Hazlehurst  Male  and  Female  Institute: 

(Incorporated  by  the  governor.)    All  donors  to  the  institute    Rec.  of 
made  members  of  the  corporation.     Corporation  shall    Inc.,  122. 
elect  a  board  of  seven  trustees  who  shall  manage  institu- 
tion, make  rules,  and  employ  teachers.     June  6,  i860. 

Richland  Male  and  Female  Academy: 

(Incorporated  by  the  governor.)     Ten  temporary  trustees     Rec.  of 
named.      Stock    company.      Capital,    $50,000.      Stock-    Inc.,  132-33- 
holders   elect   a  board   of   trustees   annually.    Trustees 
control  and  supervise  the  academy.    August  22,  i860. 

II.   COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES 
ABSTRACTS 

Jefferson  College: 

Named  in  honor  of  ''Thomas  Jefiferson,  President  of  the  Digest  (1816) 
United  States  and  President  of  the  American  Philosophical  3 10. 
Society."  Thirty-four  trustees  named  and  made  self- 
perpetuating  body.  Trustees  authorized  to  select  site, 
contract  for  buildings,  employ  president  and  faculty, 
examine  proficiency  of  students,  confer  degrees  of  bachelor 
of  arts  and  master  of  arts.     Students  of  all  denominations 


APPENDIX  A  155 

Reference 

must  be  admitted  to  equal  advantages  and  must  receive 
"a  like  fair  and  generous  treatment."  Exempt  from 
taxation.  Students  and  faculty  exempt  from  military- 
duty,  except  in  case  of  invasion.  Trustees  authorized 
to  raise  $10,000  by  lottery  and  receive  donations.  May  3, 
1802. 

Amendment  reducing  number  of  trustees  to  twenty-five,     51-52. 
making  governor  and  lieutenant-governor  ex  officio  mem- 
bers, with  governor  as  president,  and  providing  that  all 
vacancies    should    be   filled    by    the    general   assembly. 
January  30,  1826. 

Amendment  reducing  number  of  trustees  to  ten,  of  whom     87-89. 
the  governor  should  be  one  and  also  be  president  of  the 
board.     Other  members  appointed  by  the  governor  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate.     July  26,  1843. 
Amendment  authorizing  the  trustees  to  establish  a  branch     361-62. 
of  the  collegiate  and  scientific  departments  at  Natchez,  to 
which  they  may  attach  departments  of  law  and  medicine. 
March  i,  1854. 

Amendment   making  president   and    faculty    ex   officio     389. 
members  of  the  board  of  trustees  and  authorizing  said 
board  to  confer  degrees  of  bachelor  of  arts,  bachelor  of 
sciences,   and   honorary   degrees   conferable   by   similar 
Hterary  institutions.     February  18,  1854. 

Oakland  College: 

Dr.  Rush  Nutt,  David  Hunt,  and  ten  others  incorporated  47-49- 
as  ''The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Institution  of  Learning 
under  the  care  of  the  Mississippi  Presbytery."  Given 
power  to  change  corporate  name,  perpetual  succession. 
Actual  annual  income  limited  to  $10,000  from  real  and 
personal  property.  May  confer  degrees  and  diplomas. 
December  3,  1830. 

Mississippi  College: 

(Originally  incorporated  as  Hampstead  Academy  in  1826.     101-2. 

See  abstract  of  original  charter  under  head  of  "Academies 

and  Other  Secondary  Schools.")     Amendment  changed 

name  to  Mississippi  College  and  authorized  trustees  to 

confer  degrees  and  make  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the 

institution.     December  16,  1830. 

Amendment   gave    to   legislature    the    power   of    filling     S.A.,  I,  19- 

vacancies  in  board  of  trustees.     December  25,  1833. 

Sharon  College: 

B.  W.  M.  Menter  and  fourteen  others  incorporated  as     223-24. 
trustees  of  both  Sharon  College  (for  males)  and  Sharon 
Female    Academy.      Self-perpetuating.      May    employ 


156        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

teachers  and  supersede  them  at  pleasure,  and  may  confer 
degrees.    May  12,  1857. 

Chulahoma  College: 

Thomas  Box  and  ten  others  incorporated  as  trustees  of  206-7. 
"the  male  academy"  with  authority  to  convert  it  into  a 
college  as  soon  as  they  "shall  deem  it  expedient."  May 
hold  property  without  limit,  employ  teachers  and  dismiss 
them  at  pleasure,  and  may  confer  degrees.  January  30, 
1839. 

University  at  Holly  Springs: 

F.  W.  Huling  and  fifteen  others  incorporated  as  trustees.     245-46. 

No  limit  on  real  and  personal  property,  exempt  from  tax. 

Shall  adopt  a  constitution,  which  shall  provide  regulations 

for  filling  vacancies  in  board  of  trustees.     May  confer 

literary,  scientific,  and  honorary  degrees.     February  9, 

1839- 

Grenada  College: 

J.  C.  Baker  and  twelve  others  appointed  trustees,  with  373-75- 
power  to  select  site  in  or  near  Grenada,  contract  for 
buildings,  employ  president  and  other  professors  and 
supersede  them  at  pleasure,  examine  proficiency  of 
students,  confer  degrees  of  bachelor  of  arts  and  master  of 
arts,  fill  vacancies  in  their  own  body,  and  receive  dona- 
tions, bequests,  and  legacies.  Exempt  from  tax.  Febru- 
ary 15,  1839. 

Mississippi  Female  College: 

Located  at  Columbus.  Five  trustees  named,  who  with  73-75- 
the  stockholders  of  the  college  are  made  a  corporate  body 
for  the  period  of  twenty  years.  Real  and  personal  prop- 
erty limited  to  $200,000.  Trustees  named  in  charter  serve 
one  year;  successors  to  be  elected  by  stockholders 
biennially.  Act  may  be  amended  or  repealed  at  any  time 
without  the  consent  of  the  college.     February  5,  1840. 

North  Mississippi  College: 

Alexander  Shaw  and  eight  others  named  as  trustees.  No  164-66. 
limit  on  property,  provided  proceeds  are  employed  for  edu- 
cational purposes.  May  confer  literary  and  honorary 
degrees.  Trustees  shall  adopt  a  constitution,  which  may 
be  altered  only  by  the  consent  of  three-fourths  of  the  body. 
February  6,  1840. 


APPENDIX  A  157 

Reference 

Centenary  College: 

John  Lane  and  twenty-four  others  named  as  trustees.  67-69. 
Vacancies  shall  be  filled  by  rule  to  be  prescribed  at  the  first 
meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees.  May  establish  a  number 
of  schools,  including  law  and  medicine.  President  of  the 
college  shall  be  ex  oflFicio  member  of  the  board  of  trustees. 
Property  limit,  $500,000.  Legislature  may  repeal  charter 
without  the  consent  of  the  college.     July  18,  1843. 

University  of  Mississippi: 

J.  Alexander  Ventress,  John  A.  Quitman,  Wm.  L.  Sharkey,     227-28. 

A.  M.  Clayton,  Wm.  Y.  Gholson,  Jacob  Thompson,  Pryor 

Lea,  Edward  C,  Wilkinson,  James  M.  Howry,  John  J. 

McCaughn,  Rev.  Francis  Hawkes,  J.  N.  Waddell,  and 

A.  H.  Pegues  named  as  trustees,  and  given  all  general 

powers  "conferred  upon  similar  corporations  in  the  state." 

Given  full  control  over  Seminary  Fund,  and  authorized  to 

contract  for  "the  erection  of  the  University  building." 

Board  of  trustees  made  self-perpetuating.     Charter  may 

be  repealed  at  the  will  of  the  Legislature.     February  24, 

1844. 

Amendment.     Part  of  charter  giving  trustees  control  of     248-49. 

Seminary  Fund  repealed  and  the  management  of  the  fund 

given  to  the  State  Commissioner.     January  26,  1846. 

Jackson  College: 

Wilson  Hemingway,  ten  others,  with  the  faculty  of  the  419-20. 
college  as  ex  ofllicio  members,  and  the  governor  of  the 
state  ex  ofl&cio  president  of  the  board  incorporated  as 
trustees.  May  confer  degrees.  Shall  not  be  under 
control  of  any  religious  sect.  Charter  may  be  repealed 
at  will  of  legislature.     January  24,  1846. 

Sharon  Female  College: 

James  P.   Thomas  and  twelve  others  named  trustees.     449-52- 
Property  limit,  $30,000.     May  employ  teachers,  make 
regulations,  and  fill  vacancies  in  their  own  body,  subject 
to  approval  of  the  Mississippi  Conference  of  the  jMethodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South.     February  23,  1846. 

Eureka  Masonic  College: 

Located  at  Richland,  Holmes  County.  Lemuel  Doty  and  484-76. 
nine  others  made  trustees.  May  hold  real  and  personal 
property  without  limit  for  educational  purposes  only. 
May  confer  literary  and  honorary  degrees.  Vacancies 
filled  by  Eureka  Lodge  No.  61,  and  Lexington  Lodge 
No.  24.     All  trustees  must  have  attained  the  third  degree 


158        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

of  Masonry.  Whenever  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mississippi 
shall  see  fit  it  may,  with  the  consent  of  the  two  local  lodges, 
take  the  college  under  its  patronage,  and  shall  have  the 
power  to  determine  thenceforth  the  method  of  selecting 
trustees.  February  7,  1848. 
A  berdeen  Female  College: 

(Incorporated  originally  as  Aberdeen  Female  Academy.     279. 
See  abstracts  of  charters  of  academies  in  Part  I  of  this 
appendix.)     Act  changes  name  of  academy  to  Aberdeen 
Female   College   and   authorizes   the   college   to   grant 
diplomas  and  confer  degrees.     February  27,  1850. 

Eudocia  Female  College: 

James  A.  Godfrey  and  certain  others  created  a  corporate  361-63- 
body  as  trustees  of  Eudocia  Female  College,  under  the 
care  of  a  company  of  stockholders.  May  appoint  pro- 
fessors, pay  salaries,  make  regulations,  fill  vacancies  in 
their  own  body,  confer  degrees  and  give  diplomas,  appoint 
a  board  of  visitors  to  inspect  the  institution.  May  hold 
property,  provided  annual  income  therefrom  shall  not 
exceed  $5,000.     Exempt  from  taxes.    March  3,  1850. 

Wilmarth  College: 

Converts  the  female  academy  in  the  city  of  Natchez  under  437-38- 
the  management  of  Rev.  Samuel  W.  Speer,  D.D.,  into 
Wilmarth  College,  names  trustees,  authorizes  them  to 
hold  property  to  the  amount  of  $100,000,  to  confer  degrees, 
to  elect  president  and  faculty  and  their  own  successors. 
January  27,  1852. 

Mississippi  Female  College: 

Trustees  named  and  made  self-perpetuating.     Property    411-13- 
limit,  $50,000.     May  issue  certificates  of  scholarship  or 
confer  degrees  in  arts  and  sciences.     February  11,  1852. 

Kosciusko  Masonic  Female  College: 

Names  board  of  nine  trustees.  May  own  property  with-  236-38. 
out  limit,  provided  income  is  employed  for  educational 
purposes.  May  confer  literary  and  honorary  degrees. 
President  of  the  college  and  trustees  must  be  third  degree 
Masons,  and  trustees  must  also  be  members  of  Trinity 
Lodge  No.  88.     March  3,  1852. 

Madison  College: 

Located  at  Sharon,   Madison  County.     Names  trustees     272-75. 
and  gives  power  to  hold  property  not  to  exceed  $50,000,  to 
appoint  the  faculty,  and  to  confer  degrees.     Members  of 


APPENDIX  A 


the  faculty  are  made  ex  officio  members  of  the  board  of 
trustees.  (A  preamble  to  this  charter  indicates  that  the 
college  was  solely  for  males.)     March  4,  1852. 

Mary  Washington  Female  College: 

Names  thirty-nine  persons  as  "Trustees  and  representa-  149-53 
tives  of  the  Chickasaw,  Choctaw,  Aberdeen,  and  Columbus 
Baptist  associations."  Property  limit,  $200,000.  Suc- 
cessors to  be  elected  by  the  four  associations  named,  each 
association  electing  ten  trustees  for  terms  of  four  years. 
Faculty  may  grant  diplomas  and  confer  degrees. 
Trustees  shall  elect  faculty,  and  shall  have  power  to 
admit  into  said  college  such  students  as  they  may  think 
proper.  Exempt  from  tax.  Any  other  Baptist  Associa- 
tion may  be  united  with  the  chartered  four  in  support  of 
the  college  on  equal  terms.    March  8,  1852. 

College  of  St.  Andrews: 

Located  in  Jackson,  Hinds  County.     Names  board  of    26-27. 
trustees  of  seven  members.     Self-perpetuating.     No  limit 
on  property  rights.    May  confer  degrees.     October  16, 
1852. 

Central  Mississippi  Female  College: 

Located  in  town  of  Lexington,  Holmes  County.  Property  289-91. 
limit,  $100,000.  Trustees  may  elect  a  board  of  visitors, 
president,  and  faculty.  In  addition  to  property  to  the 
amount  of  $100,000,  the  college  may  hold  as  much  as 
$200,000  for  endowment  purposes,  which  may  be  raised 
by  sale  of  scholarships,  donations,  or  otherwise.  Tempo- 
rary trustees  are  named  to  serve  until  the  next  meeting  of 
the  Yazoo  Baptist  Association,  which  shall  elect  at  its 
annual  meetings.  Exempt  from  taxation.  February  25, 
1854. 

Planters^  College: 

(Originally  chartered  as  Southern  Scientific  Institute,  257-58. 
which  may  be  found  under  Part  I  of  this  appendix.) 
Amendment  changes  name  to  Planters'  College,  makes 
the  president,  faculty,  governor  of  the  state,  the  chancellor, 
and  vice  chancellor  ex  officio  members  of  the  board  of 
trustees,  and  authorizes  the  board  to  confer  degrees. 
February  28,  1854. 

Newton  College: 

Located   at   Newtonia,   Wilkinson    County.     i\lay   hold     457-58. 
property  without  limit,  and  confer  degrees.     Exempt  from 
taxation.    March  i,  1854. 


159 

Reference 


i6o        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

Union  Female  College: 
.  Under  the  control  of  the  Hernando  Synod  of  Cumberland  371. 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  located  at  Oxford,  Mississippi. 
Given  "usual  corporate  powers,  particularly  those  granted 
to  Oxford  Female  Academy"  (February  2, 1838).  Number 
of  trustees  may  be  increased  to  include  a  number  from 
each  of  the  West  Tennessee  and  the  Mississippi  synods 
equal  to  the  number  named  in  the  charter.  March  2, 
1854. 

State  Female  College  of  Mississippi: 

Trustees  named  and  made  self-perpetuating.     Given  full    383-84. 
control  over  funds  hereafter  appropriated  by  the  state  for 
the  endowment  of  the  college,  and  authorized  to  let  con- 
tract for  buildings.     February  20,  1856. 

Mississippi  Masonic  Female  College: 

Names  trustees  and  locates  the  college  in  Claiborne  355-56. 
County.  Property  limit,  $50,000.  Board  of  trustees  is 
made  self-perpetuating  and  authorized  to  grant  diplomas 
and  confer  degrees.  Retailing  of  spirituous  and  vinous 
liquors  prohibited  within  two  miles  of  the  institution. 
March  i,  1856. 

Southern  Female  College: 

Amendment  to  charter  of  Mississippi  Masonic  Female     141-42. 
College,   changing  name   to   Southern   Female   College. 
December  2, 1858. 

Semple  Broaddus  College: 

Iticorporated  as  "Semple  Broaddus  College  or  University    Rec.  of  Inc. 

of  DeSoto  County."    Located  at  Center  Hill,  DeSoto    36-37- 

County.     Trustees  named  and  located  as  follows:     13 

from  Marshall  County,  19  from  DeSoto,  5  from  Panola, 

2  from  Lafayette,  2  from  Noxubee,  i  from  Tippah,  i  from 

Tishomingo,  i  from  Pontotoc,  i  from  Monroe,  i  from 

Coahoma,  i  from  Lowndes,  i  from  Hinds,  12  from  the 

state  of  Tennessee,  2  from  Arkansas.     Property  rights 

without  limitation.     Board  is  made  self-perpetuating,  and 

given  power  to  confer  degrees.     November  11,  1858. 

Whitworth  College: 

E.  L.  Bowen  and  six  others  named  as  trustees.     Board    Rec.  of  Inc., 
shall  superintend,  visit,  and  manage  the  college,  make    98. 
rules  and  regulations,   grant  diplomas,   confer  degrees. 
Property  limit,  $50,000.     Self -perpetuating.     February  i, 
i860. 


APPENDIX  A  l6i 

Corona  Female  College: 

Located  at  Corinth.     Incorporates  Rev.  L.  B.   Gaston    Rec.  of  Inc., 
and  his  associates  as  president  and  board  of  instructors,     i  lo. 
May  hold  property  without  limitation,  make  regulations, 
grant   diplomas,   confer  degrees.     A   board   of   visitors, 
thirteen  in  number,  is  named,  and  the  president  authorized 
to  fill  vacancies  in  this  board.     February  9,  i860. 

Rose  Gates  College: 

Located  at  Okolona,  Chickasaw  County,  under  control  of    Rec.  of  Inc., 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church.    Wm.  M.  Green  and  seven     124. 
others  trustees.     Property  limit,  $30,000.    May  confer 
degrees  and  diplomas.    June  14,  i860. 


APPENDIX  B 

COMPLETE  INDEX  TO  EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI 
FROM  1802  TO  1860  BY  TITLES  OF  ACTS 

The  acts  are  given  by  legislative  sessions  in  chronological  order.  Refer- 
ences in  the  margin  are  to  pages  in  the  statutes  unless  other^Yise  specified. 
In  references  to  manuscript  laws  in  state  and  territorial  archives  the  series 
are  indicated  by  a  capital  letter  or  a  Roman  numeral  and  the  number  in  the 
series  by  an  Arabic  numeral. 

For  instance:   T.A.,  D,  2  means  Territorial  Archives,  Series  D,  Number  2. 

TITLES   OF   ACTS 

Reference 
1802 

An  act  to  estabHsh  a  college  in  the  Mississippi  Territory.    T.A.,  D,  i. 

1803 — ^First  Session 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  establish  a  college  in  the  Mis-    T.A.,  D,  2. 
sissippi  Territory. 

1803 — ^Second  Session 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Mississippi  Society  for  the    T.A.,  D,  2. 
Acquirement  and  Dissemination  of  Useful  Knowledge. 
An  act  empowering  the  board  of  trustees  of  Jefferson     T.A.,  D,  2. 
College  to  elect  new  trustees. 

1807 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Franklin  Society.  Digest  (1816), 

52. 
An  act  for  the  relief  and  settlement  of  the  poor.     (Provides    Hutchinson, 
for  the  education  of  orphans  and  certain  other  children  by     Code,  297. 
apprenticeship.) 

1809 

An  act  to  establish  an  academy  in  the  county  of  Claiborne.     T.A.,  D,  6. 

1809 — First  Session 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Natchez  Mechanical  Society         T.A.,  D,  6. 

1809 — Second  Session 
An  act  to  establish  an  academy  in  the  county  of  Claiborne.     T.A.,  D,  6. 
(Madison  Academy.) 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  for  the  relief  and  settlement  of  the     T.A.,  D,  6. 
poor, 

162 


APPENDIX  B  163 

Reference 
1811 

An  act  establishing  an  academy  in  Washington  County     T.A.,  D,  8. 
by  name  of  Washington  Academy. 

1812 

An  act  to  amend  the  act  establishing  an  academy  in  Wash-  Digest  (181 6). 
ington  County. 

An  act  establishing  Greene  Academy  in  the  county  of  Digest (1816), 

Madison.  56-57. 

1814 — First  Session 

An  act  appointing  additional  trustees  for  Greene  Academy.  T.A.,  D,  9. 

1814 — Second  Session 

An  act  to  empower  the  board  of  trustees  of  Madison    T.A.,  D,  9. 

Academy  to  change  its  site. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  establishing  an  academy  in  Wash-     T.A.,  D,  9. 

ington  County  by  the  name  of  Washington  Academy. 

An  act  to  estabhsh  an  academy  in  Wilkinson  County.     T.A.,  D,  9. 

Qackson  Academy.) 

1815 

An  act  to  establish  an  academy  in  Wilkinson  County,  and     T.A.,  D,  10. 

for  other  purposes.     (Wilkinson  Academy.) 

An  act  to  estabhsh  an  academy  at  the  town  of  Pinckney-     T.A.,  D,  10. 

ville.     (Pinckneyville  Academy.) 

An  act  to  establish  an  academy  in  Amite  County.     (Amite    T.A.,  D,  10. 

Academy.) 

1816 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  the  academy  of  Amite    T.A.,  D,  11. 

County  to  raise  a  sum  of  money  by  lottery. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  ''an  act  to  establish  a    T.A.,  D,  11. 

college  in  the  Mississippi  Territory." 

A  resolution  relating  to  the  library  for  the  use  of  the  legis-     T.A.,  D,  11. 

lature,  and  for  other  purposes. 

1818 

An  act  to  appoint  trustees  and  to  incorporate  a  library     S.A.,  I,  i. 

society  in  Greene  County,  to  be  known  and  styled  ''the 

Trustees  of  the  Library  Society  of  Greene  County." 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Mississippi  Literary  and  Library     S.A.,  I,  i. 

Company  of  Gibson  Port. 

A  resolution  to  provide  for  the  education  of  the  child  of    S.A.,  I,  i. 

Josiah  Simpson,  deceased. 

An  act  to  estabhsh  a  college  in  the  town  of  Shieldsborough.     S.A.,  I,  i. 


i64        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

An  act  to  appoint  trustees  and  incorporate  a  debating  and     S.A.,  I,  i. 

literary  society  in  the  county  of  Wilkinson,  to  be  styled, 

"The  Trustees  of  the  Franklin  Debating  and  Library 

Society." 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  lands  given  by  the  United  States     S.A.,  I,  i. 

to  the  state  of  Mississippi  for  the  benefit  of  schools. 

1819 
An  act  to  incorporate  a  society  to  be  known  by  the    S.A.,  I,  2. 
name  of  the  FrankUn  Debating  and  Library  Society  in 
Wilkinson  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Elizabeth  Female  Academy  in  the  S.A.,  I,  2. 
county  of  Adams. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  Beach  Hill    S.A.,  I,  2. 
Academy  and  Methodist  Meeting  House  in  Jeflferson 
County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Pearl  River  Academy  in  the  S.A.,  I,  2. 
county  of  Lawrence. 

An  act  to  establish  an  academy  in  the  city  of  Natchez.  S.A.,  I,  2. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Female  Charitable  Society  S.A.,  I,  2. 
(Natchez). 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  Wilkinson  Female  S.A.,  I,  2. 
Academy  of  Wilkinson  County. 

1820 

An  act   to  incorporate  the  Liberty  Debating  Literary    S.A.,  I,  3. 

Society  in  Amite  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Amite  Union  Society  for  the    S.A.,  I,  3. 

acquisition  and  dissemination  of  useful  knowledge. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  the  Elizabeth  Female    S.A.,  I,  3. 

Academy  to  raise  a  sum  of  money  by  lottery. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Columbian  Academy  under  the     S.A.,  I,  3. 

name  and  style  of  the  president  and  trustees  of  the 

Columbian  Academy. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  provide  for  the  lands  given  by     S.A.,  I,  3. 

the  United  States  to  the  state  of  Mississippi  for  the  benefit 

of  schools. 

1 8  2 1  — January-February 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Pike  Library  Society.  92-93- 

An  act  to  authorize  a  lease  of  certain  town  lots  therein     73-75. 

named,  and  for  other  purposes.     (Incorporates  Franklin 

Academy.) 

182 1 — November 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Sligo  Academy.  7-8. 

An  act  to  estabUsh  a  Literary  Fund,  and  for  the  encour-     27-34. 
agement  of  education  in  this  state. 


APPENDIX  B  165 

Reference 

An  act  concerning  the  location  of  the  thirty-six  sections     128-29. 
of  land  granted  by  Congress  to  this  state  for  the  use  of  a 
seminary  of  learning  within  the  same. 

1823 — Session  1822-23 
An  act  amendatory  to  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  establish     103-4. 
a  Literary  Fund,"  etc. 

An   act   to  incorporate   Harmony   Society   of  Jefferson     75-77. 
County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Centre  Academy     86-88. 
and  Meeting  House  in  Claiborne  County. 

1824 
An  act  to  appropriate  moneys  arising  from  the  rents  of    9-12. 
school  lands,  and  for  other  purposes. 

1825 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Philomathean  Society.  27-28. 

An  act  to  provide  for  leasing  the  Seminary  Lands.  i3-i4- 

An  act  to  incorporate  Flower  Hill  Academy.  77-78. 

An  act  to  change  the  name  and  style  of  the  Female  Chari-  87-88. 
table  Society,  and  for  other  purposes. 

1826 
An  act  to  revive  the  charter  of  the  Pinckneyville  Academy     lo-i  i . 
in  Wilkinson  County. 

An  act  to  establish  Clinton  Academy  in  the  county  of    63-65 
Claiborne. 

An  act  to  establish  an  academy  in  Hinds  County.     Ham-     23-25. 
stead  Academy;  later,  Mississippi  College.) 
A  resolution  to  authorize  the  governor  to  subscribe  for     129. 
bank  stock.     (Investment  of  Literary  Fund.) 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  establish  a  college  in  the  Mis-     51-52. 
sissippi  Territory. 

An  act  to  amend  the  act  to  provide  for  leasing  the  Semi-     69-70. 
nary  Lands,  passed  January  29,  1825. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  appropriate  the  moneys  arising     96-97. 
from  the  rents  of  school  lands,  and  for  other  purposes, 
passed  January  9,  1824. 

1827 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  authorize  a  lease  of  certain     i3<S-38. 
town  lots  therein  named,  and  for  other  purposes,  passed 
February  10,  1821. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  establish  an     85-86. 
academy  in  the  county  of  Hinds." 


1 66        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  the  Orphan  Asylum  of  Natchez.         55-56. 

An  act  to  appoint  a  board  of  trustees  for  Fayette  Academy     58-59. 

in  Jefferson  County. 

An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  entitled  "an  act  to  provide     18-20. 

for  leasing  the  Seminary  Lands." 

An  act  to  establish  a  seminary  of  learning  in  the  county     73-76. 

of  Simpson.     (Westville  Academy.) 

1828 
An   act   to   incorporate   the   members   of   the   Franklin     11 -12. 
Library  Society  (at  Meadville). 

An  act  to  establish  Rutledge  Academy  in  the  county  of    66-67. 
Copiah. 

A  resolution  to  authorize  the  governor  to  subscribe  for     130. 
bank  stock.     (Investment  of  Literary  Fund.) 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "  an  act  to  appropriate  the     41-42. 
moneys  arising  from  the  rents  of  school  lands,  and  for 
other  purposes." 

1829 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  appropriate     29-30. 
the  moneys  arising  from  the  rents  of  school  lands,  and  for 
other  purposes,"  passed  January  9,  1824. 

An  act  to  establish  seminaries  of  learning  at  Benton  in  the     73-78. 
county  of  Yazoo,  and  Brandon  in  the  county  of  Rankin. 
(Benton  Academy  and  Pearl  River  Academy.) 
An  act  to  appoint  a  board  of  trustees  for  CHnton  Academy    46-47 
in  Claiborne  County. 

An  act  respecting  certain  lotteries.     (Elizabeth  Female    34-35- 
Academy,  Trinity  Church,  and  the  Masonic  Grand  Lodge.) 
An  act  for  the  benefit  of  Mississippi  Academy.  54-55- 

A  resolution.     (Authorizes  quartermaster  of  state  to  lend     108. 
arms  to  Jefferson  College.) 

A  resolution  in  relation  to  the  introduction  of  a  general     111-12. 
system  of  education  within  this  state. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  appropriate     13. 
the  moneys  arising  from  the  rents  of  school  lands,  and 
for  other  purposes. 

1 830 — January-February 
A  memorial  to  Congress.     (Requests  a  substitute  section     202-4. 
for  sixteenth  section  of  a  township  in  Lawrence  County.) 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Marion  Academy.     51-52. 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  appropriating  the  moneys  arising     144-45- 
from  rents  of  school  lands,  and  for  other  purposes. 


APPENDIX  B  167 

Reference 

An  act  to  further  amend  an  act  to  authorize  a  lease  of  cer-    31-32. 

tain   lots   therein   mentioned,   and   for   other   purposes, 

passed  February  10,  1821. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Natchez  Academy.     155-56. 

An  act  changing  the  name  of  CHnton  Academy  at  Port     91. 

Gibson.     (Changed  to  Port  Gibson  Academy.) 

An  act  to  establish  a  town  on  the  sixteenth  section  in     31-32. 

T.  10,  R.  3,  W.  in  the  county  of  Yazoo. 

An  act  to  revive  the  Literary  Fund  Law,  passed  Novem-    38. 

ber  26,  1821. 

1830 — November 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  insti-    47-49. 

tution   of   learning   under   the   care   of   the   Mississippi 

Presbytery. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  school  lands  in  the     21. 

county  of  Pike  to  lease  the  same  for  a  term  of  years. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  entitled,  ''an  act  to  amend  an  act     9-10. 

to  authorize  the  lease  of  certain  lots  therein  named," 

passed  February  10,  1821,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Brandon  Library  Society  in  the     21. 

county  of  Rankin. 

An  act  to  revive  an  act  passed  February  12,  1819,  entitled,     18. 

"an  act  incorporating  a  seminary  of  learning  in  the  county 

of  Lawrence  called  Pearl  River  Academy." 

An  act  to  authorize  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  school     11 5-16. 

lands  of  T.  i,  R.  4,  W.,  in  the  county  of  Wilkinson,  to 

lease  or  rent  the  school  lands  in  fractional  T.  i,  R.  5,  W.,  in 

said  county,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  revive  the     19. 

Literary  Fund." 

An  act  to  lease  the  sixteenth  section  in  T.  5,  R.  3  in  Rankin     36. 

County. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  leasing  of  school  lands  in  certain     97-98. 

counties  therein  named.     (Madison,  Jefferson,  Claiborne, 

Monroe,  Lowndes.) 

A  memorial  to  the  Honorable,  the  Senate  and  House  of     145-46. 

Representatives    of    the     United    States    in     Congress 

assembled.     (Prays   for  substitute   township   in  lieu   of 

that  originally  granted  Jefferson  College.) 

An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,     101-2. 

"an  act  to  establish  an  academy  in  the  county  of  Hinds," 

approved    February    5,    1827.     (Academy    changed    to 

Mississippi  College.) 


1 68        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

An  act  to  provide  for  leasing  the  Seminary  Lands,  and     113-14- 
for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Hampden  Academy    42-43- 
in  the  county  of  Hinds  (at  Raymond). 

1831 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  Meridian  Springs     11 2-13. 
Academy,  in  Hinds  County. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  the  school  of  Section  16,    44-45- 
T.  5,  R.  I ,  W.,  Choctaw  district,  to  locate  the  schoolhouse  of 
said  section. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  members  of  the  Vicksburg    49-50- 
Institute. 

An   act   to   incorporate   the   Meridian    Springs   Library     41-42. 
Society,  in  Hinds  County. 

An  act  to  alter  and  amend  the  charter  of  the  corporation     120-22. 
of  president  and  trustees  of  Franklin  Academy  in  the 
county  of  Lowndes. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  establish  a     33-34- 
town  on  the  sixteenth  section  in  T.  10,  R.  3,  W.,  in  the 
county  of  Yazoo,  approved  February  12,  1830. 

1 833 — January-February 
An  act  to  incorporate  Yazoo  Academy,  and  for  other  pur-     S.A.,  I,  18. 
poses.     (Incorporates  also  Hickory   Springs  Academy.) 
An  act  further  to  incorporate  the  school  commissioners     S.A.,  I,  18. 
for  fractional  T.  i,  R.  4,  W.     (Brandon  Academy.) 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Pearl  River  Academy  in  the     S.A.,  I,  18. 
county  of  Madison. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  the  school  lands  within     S.A.,  I,  18. 
each  township  in  this  state  to  lease  the  sixteenth  section 
for  ninety-nine  years,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  alter  and  amend  the  charter  of  incorporation     S.A.,  I,  18. 
of  the  president  and  trustees  of  FrankHn  County,  in  the 
county  of  Lowndes,  and  to  repeal  an  act  entitled,  "an 
act  to  amend  the  charter,"  etc.,  approved  December  19, 

1831. 

An  act  for  the  distribution  of  the  Literary  Fund  among     S.A.,  I,  18. 

the  several  counties  of  the  state. 

1 833 — November-December 
A  resolution  in  relation  to  the  refuse  lands  in  the  various     S.A.,  I,  19. 
counties  in  the  state  of  Mississippi.     (Seeks  to  have  them 
donated  to  the  counties  for  school  purposes.) 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Spring  Ridge  Academy  in  the     S.A.,  I,  19. 
county  of  Madison. 


APPENDIX  B  169 

Reference 

An  act  concerning  Jefferson  College.  S.A.,  I,  19. 

An  act  to  amend  part  of  the  acts  in  relation  to  the  Missis-     S.A.,  I,  19. 
sippi  College. 

A  memorial  to  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives    S.A.,  I,  19. 
of  the  United  States.     (Seeks  substitutes  for  sterile  six- 
teenth sections.) 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Gallatin  Female  Academy  in     S.A.,  I,  19. 
the  county  of  Copiah. 

An  act  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  an  act  entitled,     S.A.,  I,  19. 
"an  act  for  the  distribution  of  the  Literary  Fund  among 
the  several  counties  of  the  state,  and  for  other  purposes." 

1836 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Monticello  Academy  in  the    385-86. 
county  of  Lawrence. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of    395. 
Hampden  Academy  in  the  county  of  Hinds. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Canton  Female  Academy  in  396-97. 
the  county  of  Madison. 

An  act  in  relation  to  Pearl  River  Academy.  (In  Rankin.  392-93. 
Name  changed  to  Brandon  Academy.) 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Madison ville  Male  and  Female  sSo-82. 
academies  in  the  county  of  Madison. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Washington  Irving     393-95. 
Academy,  in  the  town  of  Franklin,  and  for  other  purposes. 
An  act  to  incorporate  CarroUton  Academy  in  the  county    386-88. 
of  Carroll. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  estabhsh  a     377. 
seminary  of  learning  in  the  county  of  Simpson,"  passed 
January  27,  1827. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Richlands  Academy  in  the  377-79. 
county  of  Carroll. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Judson  Institute.     (Hinds  County.)     382-84. 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  authorize  the     15-20. 
trustees  of  school  lands  in  each  township  in  this  state  to 
lease  the  sixteenth  sections  within  the  same  for  ninety- 
nine  years,  and  for  other  purposes." 

An  act  to  incorporate  Paulding  Academy  in  Jasper  County.  384-85. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Gallatin  :Male  389-91. 
Academy.     (Copiah  County.) 

1837 — ^January 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Lane  Academy  in  the     S.A.,  I,  20. 
city  of  \'icksburg. 


I70         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

1 83  7 — April-May 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  T.  13,  R.  19  in  Noxubee     i. 

County,  to  lease  a  portion  of  the  sixteenth  section  in  less 

quantities  than  80  acres. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Marion  Academy.     118-20. 

(Lauderdale  County.) 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Lewisville  Academy,     127-28. 

and  for  other  purposes.     (Winston  County.) 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Hernando  Academy   in   the     170-71. 

coimty  of  De  Soto. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Greensboro  academies  in  the     178-79- 

town  of  Choctaw. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Sharon  College  and  Sharon  Female     223-24. 

Academy,  in  Madison  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  male  and  female  Pinckney    304-5- 

Academy. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  Mount  Carmel    310-11. 

Male  and  Female  Academy.     (Covington  County.) 

An  act  authorizing  the  trustees  of  section  16,  T.  5,  R.  2,     384. 

E.,  to  lease  a  portion  of  the  same. 

1838 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Oxford  Male  and  Female  acade-    75-77- 

mies  in  the  town  of  Oxford. 

An  act  to  amend  the  charter  of  Port  Gibson  Academy.         79-82. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  T.  14,  S.,  R.  18,  W.,     117. 

in  Monroe  County,  to  make  title  to  the  respective  lessees 

of  the  sixteenth  section  of  said  township. 

An  act  to  revive  an  act  incorporating  the  trustees  of  Meri-     118. 

dian  Springs  Academy  in  Hinds  County. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  board  of  trustees  and  their  sue-     124-25. 

cessors  in  office  of  the  sixteenth  section,  T.  2,  R.  9,  E.,  in 

the  county  of  Smith,  to  make  titles  to  the  lessees  of  school 

lands. 

An  act  to  provide  for  a  state  library.  165-66. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  subscribers  to  the  Colbert  Male    202-6. 

and  Female  Academy  in  the  county  of  Lowndes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Pontotoc  Female  Academy.  229-31. 

An  act  for  the  benefit  of  the  Orphan  Asylum  in  the  city     245. 

of  Natchez. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  board  of  police  of  Rankin  County     303-4. 

to  confirm  the  lease  of  the  sixteenth  section  of  T.  6,  R.  4,  E. 


APPENDIX  B  171 

Reference 
1839 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  Coffeeville  Male     195-96. 

and  Female  Academy  in  the  county  of  Yalobusha. 

An   act   for   the   benefit  of   Cayuga   Male   and   Female     201. 

Academy  in  the  county  of  Hinds. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  female  academy  of  Holly  Springs     202-3 • 

in  Marshall  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Chulahoma  College  and  Chula-     206-7. 

homa  Female  Academy  in  Marshall  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Farmington  Academy     208-9. 

in  the  county  of  Tishomingo,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  male  and  female  academies  of     213-14. 

Wyatt  in  the  county  of  Lafayette. 

An  act  concerning  school  lands.  34- 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Wahalak  Female  Academy  in     220-22. 

the  county  of  Kemper,  and  the  Oak  Hill  Academy  in  the 

county  of  Copiah. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  the  Hernando     223-24. 

Academy. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Chulahoma  College  and  Com-     227-28. 

mercial  Institute  in  the  town  of  Chulahoma. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Amite  Library  and  Debating     233-35. 

Society. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  subscribers  to  the  De  Kalb  Male     239-42. 

and  Female  Academy  in  the  county  of  Kemper. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  University  at  Holly  Springs.  245-46- 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  Woodville  Classi-     251-53. 

cal  School  in  Wilkinson  County. 

An   act   to  incorporate   the   Macon   Male  and   Female     256-59. 

Academy,    and    the    Mount    Pleasant    and    Shugualak 

academies  in  the  county  of  Noxubee. 

An   act   for   the  benefit  of  education.     (In   interest   of     38-40- 

academies.) 

An  act  to  establish  a  common  school  in  the  county  of     260-62. 

Bolivar. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  boards  of  trustees  for  certain     289. 

townships  therein  mentioned  to  estabhsh  joint  schools. 

An  act  confirming  the  lease  of  the  sixteenth  section  in     294. 

T.  7,  R.  7,  E.  in  the  county  of  Lawrence. 

An  act  to  confirm  the  lease  of  the  sixteenth  section  of  T.  8,     302. 

R.  I,  E.     (Madison  County.) 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Male     357-58. 

and  Female  Academy  in  the  town  of  Plymouth. 


172        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

An  act  to  revive  the  incorporation  of  the  Amite  Academy.  360. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Grenada  College.  373-75- 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  board  of  trustees  of  Emery  378-80. 

Academy  in  the  county  of  Holmes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Grenada  Male  and  Female  380-81. 

academies. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  leasing  of  school  lands  in  the  county  417- 

of  Neshoba. 

A  memorial  to  Congress.     (Relative  to  Chickasaw  Lands.)     99-100. 

1840 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  for  the  benefit     119. 
of  education." 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Almucha  Academy  and  Free     1 34-3  7- 
Church. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Thick  woods  Academy  in  the     148-49- 

county  of  Amite. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Greensboro  academies,  and  for     157*59- 

other  purposes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Gallatin     66-68. 

Academy  in  the  county  of  Copiah. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Woodville  Female  Academy  in     161. 

the  town  of  Woodville,  Wilkinson  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Amite  Library  and  Debating     273-74. 

Society. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  FrankHn  Library  and  Debating     276-77- 

Society  in  the  county  of  Franklin. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  incorporate     52-53- 

the  Trustees  of  the  Woodville  Classical  School." 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  stockholders  and  trustees  of  the     73-75- 

Mississippi  Female  College  in  the  city  of  Columbus. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Constantine  Male  and  Female     162-63. 

Academy  in  the  county  of  Noxubee. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  North  Mississippi     164-66. 

College. 

An  act  to  legalize  and  confirm  the  sale  of  a  lot  of  ground     170-71. 

therein  named.     (Carries  out  a  provision  of  charter  of 

Macon  Academy.) 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Rienzi  Academy  in     171-73- 

the  county  of  Tishomingo. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Tchula  Library  and  Debating     295-96. 

Society. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Vicksburg  Female  Academy.         131-32. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act    to  incorporate  the   Richland     144- 

Academy,  in  Carroll  County. 


APPENDIX  B  173 

Reference 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  in  relation  to     1 73-75- 

Pearl  River  Academy,  passed  February  24,  1846. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  the  Judson  Insti-     175. 

tute,  approved  February  27,  1836. 

An  act  to  confirm  the  lease  of  the  sixteenth  sections  in     124. 

the  county  of  Covington. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  location  of  the  state  university.     92-95. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  leasing  of  school  lands  in  the  county     187-88. 

of  Choctaw. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  collection  of  the  proceeds  of  the     196-97. 

lease  of  the  school  lands  of  the  sixteenth  section,  in  T.  22, 

R.  3,  E.  in  Tallahatchie  County. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  school  section  16,  of     197. 

T.  13,  R.  2,  E.,  in  Holmes  County,  to  rescind  the  sale 

thereof,  or  to  purchase  the  same  and  offer  at  public  sale, 

for  the  benefit  of  the  township. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Columbia  Academy   in   the     223-25. 

county  of  Marion. 

An  act  to  establish  the  Yazoo  Library  Association.  279-80. 

1841 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Wahalak  Male  Academy  in  the    263-65. 
county  of  Kemper. 

An  act  to  amend  the  law  as  to  leases  of  sixteenth  sections.     127. 
An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  school  section  16,  of     206-7. 
T.  9,  R.  6,  E.,  in  Copiah  County,  to  rescind  the  sale  thereof. 
An  act  to  further  regulate  the  election  of  trustees  of  school     216-17. 
lands  in  Franklin  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Holly  Springs  Library  and     287-88. 
Debating  Society  in  the  county  of  JVIarshall. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Commerce  Male  and  Female     281. 
Academy. 

A  resolution  in  relation  to  Jefferson  College.  i59- 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  T.  10,  R.  3-  E.,  to     176. 
rescind  the  sale  of  the  sixteenth  section  of  said  township. 
An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  section  16,  T.  25,  R.  3,     193. 
E.,  in  the  county  of  Yalobusha,  to  make  deeds  thereto. 
An  act  to  prescribe  the  place  of  holding  the  public  school     202-3. 
in  T.  19,  R.  17,  E.  in  Lowndes  County. 

An  act  for  the  rehef  of  Samuel  L.  Moore,  and  for  other     218. 
purposes.     (Sixteenth  section.) 

An  act  to  authorize  the  county  police  of  the  several  coun-     122-23. 
ties  in  the  state  to  expose  to  public  sale  all  depreciated 
bank    paper    in    their    county    treasuries.     (Section    2 
authorizes  trustees  of  school  lands  to  do  likewise.) 


174         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

An    act  in    relation    to    the   university  of  the  state  of     143-45- 

Mississippi. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  WilHamsburg     248-49. 

Male  and  Female  Academy. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  Oakland  Male     254. 

and  Female  Academy. 

An  act  authorizing  the  administrator  of  the  estate  of     239-41. 

H.  W.  Runnels,  deceased,  to  pay  for  a  certain  portion  of 

the  Seminary  Lands,  purchased  from  the  state  under 

provisions  of  the  act  to  provide  for  selling  said  lands. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  the  male  and     258-59. 

female  academies  of  Grenada,  approved  February  15, 1859. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  lease  of  certain  school  lands  in  county     280. 

of  Coahoma. 

An  act  for  the  rehef  of  McLin  Evans,  and  for  other  pur-     244-45- 

poses.     (Sixteenth  section.) 


An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  incorporating  the     219. 

Female  Academy  of  Holly  Springs,  in  Marshall  County." 

An  act  authorizing  the  board  of  police  of  Jasper  County     164-65. 

to  rent  out  the  sixteenth  sections  in  said  county,  and  for 

other  purposes. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  sale   of    certain  school  lands  in     151. 

the  county  of  Coahoma. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  schools  and  school     177. 

lands  for  T.  2,  R.  2,  W.,  in  Wilkinson  County,  to  rescind 

the  sale  thereof,  or  to  purchase  the  same  for  the  benefit 

of  said  township. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  the  sixteenth  section     176. 

of  T.  10,  R.  I,  W.,  in  Yazoo  County,  to  purchase  a  portion 

of  said  section  for  the  benefit  of  the  township. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the     162-64. 

Oakland  Male  and  Female  Academy,  and  to  provide  for 

the  reincorporation  of  said  institution. 

An  act  concerning  school  section  number  4,  T.  12,  R.  2,  E.,     174. 

in  Claiborne  County. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  certain  sixteenth  sec-     178. 

tions  to  rescind  the  contracts  for  leasing  them. 

An  act  for  the  rehef  of  John  Patterson  of  Bolivar  County.     203-4. 

An  act   to  incorporate   the   Marion   Male  and   Female     166-68. 

Academy  in  the  county  of  Lauderdale. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  schools  and  school     130-33. 

lands  in  all  of  the  sixteenth  sections  reserved  to  this  state 


APPENDIX  B  175 

Reference 

by  act  of  Congress,  to  rescind  sales,  leases,  and  other  con- 
tracts made  in  relation  thereto,  and  for  other  purposes. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  sixteenth  section     222-23. 
of  T.  10,  R.  2,  E.  in  Madison  and  Yazoo  counties. 
An  act  for  the  benefit  of  schools  in  T.  8,  R.  3,  E.,  in     224. 
Madison  County. 

A  memorial  to  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives     265-66. 
of  the  United  States  on  the  subject  of  the  sixteenth  sec- 
tions in  the  Chickasaw  cession. 

A  resolution  in  relation  to  the  land  on  which  the  state     258. 
university  has  been  located. 

1843 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Centenary  College  in  the  county     67-69. 
of  Rankin. 

An  act  to  compensate  the  commissioners  appointed  to     81-82. 
locate  the  lands  allowed  the  state  of  Mississippi  by  Con- 
gress, in  lieu  of  the  sixteenth  sections  in  the  Chickasaw 
cession. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  in  relation  to  school  lands  in  the     106. 
counties  of  Smith  and  Jones,  passed  in  the  year  1839. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Aberdeen  Male  Academy.  89-91. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Raleigh  Academy     94-95. 
in  the  county  of  Smith. 

An  act  to  revive  an  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the     10S-9. 
Natchez  Academy. 

An  act  for  the  collection  and  investment  of  the  Seminary     57-64. 
Fund. 

An  act  to  amend  the  several  acts  of  this  state  in  relation     87-89. 
to  Jefferson  College. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Pontotoc  Athenaeum.  93~94- 

1844 

An   act    to    incorporate    the   Humane    and    Benevolent     24S-49. 

Society  of  Vicksburg  with  an  Orphan  Asylum  annexed. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  Friendship  Male     253-54. 

Academy  in  the  county  of  Panola. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  schools  in  T.  i,  R.  4,     363. 

W.,  in  the  county  of  Wilkinson,  to  rescind  the  sale,  lease, 

or  contract,  made  for,  or  concerning,  the  school  lands  in 

fractional  T.  i,  R.  5,  W. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Male  and  Female  Academy  of     261-62. 

Houston  in  the  county  of  Chickasaw. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Decatur  Male  and  Female     254-56. 

Academy  in  the  county  of  Newton. 


176         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  Lexington  Male     266H37. 
and  Female  Academy  in  the  county  of  Holmes. 
An  act  to  secure  to  the  Chickasaw  counties  the  benefit  of 
the  lands  given  to  the  state  in  lieu  of  the  sixteenth  sec- 
tions in  the  Chickasaw  cession. 

An  act  to  regulate  the  rate  of  interest  on  the  school  fund, 
and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  supplementary  to  an  act  for  the  collection  and 
investment  of  the  Seminary  Fund,  approved  July  18,  1843. 
An  act  to  amend  the  charter  of  Jefferson  College. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  University  of  Mississippi. 


238-40. 


124-25. 

129-30. 

225-26. 
227-28. 


1846 
An  act  for  the  establishment  of  a  seminary  of  learning  in    419-20. 
the  city  of  Jackson. 

An  act  supplementary  to  an  act  for  the  incorporation  of     248-49. 
the  University  of  Mississippi,  approved  February  24, 1844. 
An  act  to  authorize  and  require  the  trustees  of  schools  and     412-13. 
school  lands  in  the  city  of  Columbus,  in  T.  18,  S.,  of  R.  18, 
W.,  to  execute  deeds  to  lots  of  less  dimensions  than  one- 
fourth  of  one  acre,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  restore  a  board  of  trustees  of  the  sixteenth  sec-    350-52. 
tion  in  T.  5,  R.  3,  E. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  sale  of  the  sixteenth  section  of  T.  7,     437-38- 
R.  9,  E.,  in  Scott  County. 

An  act  supplementary  to  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to     535-36. 
incorporate   the   Canton   Female  Academy  of   Madison 
County,"  approved  February  5,  1836. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Black  Hawk  Male  and  Female    430-31- 
academies  in  the  county  of  Carroll. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  president  and  trustees  of  the    389-91. 
Aberdeen  Female  Academy. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Pontotoc  Male  Academy.  370-71- 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Zion  Seminary  in    367-68. 
the  county  of  Covington. 

An  act  to  repeal  the  second  section  of  an  act  entitled,  "an     223. 
act  to  regulate  the  rate  of  interest  on  the  school  fund, 
and  for  other  purposes,"  approved  February  13,  1844. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Lexington  Literary  and  Debat-     490-91. 
ing  Society. 

An  act  to  incorporate  St.  Thomas'  Hall  in  the  town  of     330-31- 
Holly  Springs. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Sharon  Female  College  in  the     449-52- 
town  of  Sharon,  Madison  County. 


APPENDIX  B 


177 


An  act  to  authorize  John  C.  Pryor,  ....  to  sell  the 
property  known  as  the  Female  Academy,  in  the  town  of 
Hernando,  De  Soto  County. 

An  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common  schools,  and  for 
other  purposes. 

An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  estab- 
lish a  system  of  common  schools,  and  for  other  purposes." 
An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  passed  at  the  present  ses- 
sion of  the  legislature  entitled,  "an  act  to  establish  a 
system  of  common  schools  and  for  other  purposes." 
An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  passed  at  the  present  ses- 
sion of  the  legislature  entitled,  "an  act  to  establish  a  sys- 
tem of  common  schools,"  etc. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  the  debts  due  for  the 
state  library,  and  for  an  interchange  of  books  between 
this  state  and  the  several  states  of  the  Union. 
An  act  to  authorize  the  commissioner  of  the  Seminary 
Fund  to  compound  with  the  debtors  thereof. 
An  act  to  provide  for  the  erection  of  permanent  school- 
houses  in  the  city  of  Jackson. 

1848 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Macon  Female  Institute  in 
Noxubee  County. 

An  act  to  appropriate  a  portion  of  the  Yazoo  City  Hospital 
Fund  to  educational  purposes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Canton  Male  Academy  in  the 
county  of  Madison. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  president  and  trustees  of  Aber- 
deen Female  Academy. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  Eureka  ^Masonic 
College  at  Richland,  Holmes  County. 
An  act  to  legalize  the  lease  of  sixteenth  sections  in  Pike 
County. 

An  act  extending  certain  privileges  to  Masons,  Odd 
Fellows,  Sons  of  Temperance,  Literary,  Benevolent,  and 
other  societies  and  companies.  (Permits  incorporation 
by  county  probate  clerks.) 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  leasing  of  Chickasaw  School 
Lands. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  sale  and  purchase  of  section  16, 
T.  2,  R.  14,  E.  in  the  county  of  Clarke. 
A  memorial  to  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  L^nited  States  in  Congress  assembled.     (Sixteenth 
sections.) 


Reference 

454- 

"55- 

98-: 

104. 

105 

105 

-6. 

106. 

183. 

241-42. 
359-61. 

467-69. 
228. 
469-72. 
483-84. 

474-76. 
237-38. 
103-4. 

62-67. 

256-57. 

543-45. 


178         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  John  Patterson.  494-95- 

An  act  to  annex,  in  the  county  of  Adams,  T.  8,  R.  2,  W.,     235-36. 

to  T.  8,  R.  3,  W.  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  for  the  rehef  of  James  S.  Bailey.  495- 

An  act  for  the  further  endowment  of  the  University  of     104-5- 

Mississippi. 

An  act  relative  to  the  trustees  of  the  University.  169. 

An  act  to  prohibit  the  sale  of  vinous  and  spirituous  liquors     151-52. 

in  less  quantities  than  five  gallons  within  five  miles  of  the 

University  of  Mississippi. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Raymond  Female  Institute.  472-73- 

An  act  for  the  benefit  of  Aberdeen  Female  Academy.  477- 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the    487. 

Louisville  Academy,  approved  May  9,  1837. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  sale  of  the  sixteenth  section  in  T.  6,     230-31. 

R.  16,  E.  in  the  county  of  Lauderdale. 

An  act  in  relation  to  the  school  fund  ofT.  i2,R.  2,E.  in     231. 

Yazoo  County. 

An  act  supplementary  to  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to     196-98. 

establish  a  system  of  pubHc  schools,  and  for  other  pur- 
poses," approved  March  4,  1846.     (For  Warren  County.) 

An  act  requiring  the  treasurers  of  Pontotoc  and  Lafayette     239-40. 

counties  to  lend  the  school  fund  of  said  counties. 

An  act  to  reduce  the  percentage  of  the  treasurer  of  the     240-41. 

county  of  Harrison,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  common  school 

fund. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  application  of  the  common     199-201. 

school  fund  that  has  or  may  hereafter  accrue  under  an 

act  approved  March  4,  1846,  in  the  county  of  Marion. 

An  act  for  the  better  regulation  of  the  state  library.  148-51. 

An  act  to  aid  in  the  estabhshment  of  an  institution  for     153-55- 

the  instruction  of  the  bhnd. 

An  act  concerning  the  Hernando  Female  Academy.  476. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  estabhsh  a     143-44. 

system  of   common   schools,   and   for   other  purposes," 

passed  March  4,  1846. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  establish  a     145-47- 

system   of   common   schools,   and   for  other   purposes," 

approved  March  4,  1846. 

An  act  to  provide  for  and  establish  common  schools  in     185-86. 

the  counties  of  Hinds,  Holmes,  Tunica,  Jefferson,  Wilkin- 
son, Lawrence,  and  Amite. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common     201-4. 

schools,  and  for  other  purposes,  approved  March  4,  1846, 


APPENDIX  B 


179 


so  far  as  the  same  refers  to  the  counties  of  Noxubee, 
Lowndes,  Yalobusha,  Winston,  Covington,  Jefferson, 
Neshoba,  Scott,  Newton,  Madison,  Bolivar,  Carroll,  Sun- 
flower, Tallahatchie,  Claiborne,  and  Kemper. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Columbus  Female  Institute  in 
the  county  of  Lowndes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Enterprise  Academy  in  the  county 
of  Clarke. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Pleasant  Hill  Male  and  Female 
Academy  in  the  county  of  Jasper. 

1850 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  board  of  visitors  of  Yazoo 

Classical  Hall  in  Yazoo  County. 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  the  heirs  of  Daniel  Fore  and  John 

Colher.     (Sixteenth  section.) 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  establishing  a  system  of  common 

schools,  approved  March  4,  1846. 

An  act  to  amend  the  school  law  of  March  4,  1846,  so  far 

as  the  same  relates  to  the  county  of  Choctaw. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  provide  for  common  schools, 

approved  March  4,  1848,  and  for  other  purposes,  so  far  as 

relates  to  the  county  of  Amite. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  school  trustees  of  T.  4,  R.  3,  W., 

in  Hinds  County,  to  execute  a  lease  to  Henry  D.  Gibbs, 

for  ninety-nine  years,  for  certain  portions  of  the  sixteenth 

section  therein. 

An  act  for  the  benefit  of  Yazoo  Female  Academy. 

An  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common  schools  in  Yazoo 

County. 

An  act  to  amend  the  several  laws  of  this  state  in  relation 

to  common  schools,  so  far  as  relates  to  Chickasaw  County. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  common  school  within  the  town 

of  Woodville. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  distribution  of  the  common 

school  fund  of  the  county  of  Rankin. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common 

schools,  approved  March  4,  1846,  so  far  as  relates  to  the 

county  of  Attala,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Pearl  River  Female  Academy,  in 

T.  7,  R.  2,  E.  in  Madison  County. 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  the  trustees  of  schools  and  school 

lands  in  T.  10,  R.  i,  east  of  the  basis  meridian  west  of 

Pearl  River,  and  for  other  purposes. 


Reference 


477-81. 

482. 

482-83. 

461-62. 

491. 

83. 

131- 

169-71. 

193-94. 

493- 

145-46. 

153-56. 
131- 
132. 
167-69. 

314- 
469-74. 


i8o        EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 


An  act  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  teachers  employed 
under  an  act  to  estabhsh  common  schools,  and  for  other 
purposes,  approved  March  4,  1846. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  Black  Hawk  Male 
and  Female  academies  in  the  county  of  Carroll. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Polkville  Male  and  Female 
Academy  in  the  county  of  Smith. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Aberdeen  Academy,"  approved  February  28,  1848, 
and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  sales  of  sixteenth  sections  within 
the  county  of  Jones,  and  for  other  purposes. 
An  act  to  establish  common  schools  in  Holmes  County. 
An  act  to  prescribe  the  mode  of  applying  school  funds  in 
Tippah  County,  and  for  other  purposes. 
An  act  to  provide  for  the  education  of  poor  children  in 
the  county  of  Issaquena  (Lawrence). 
An  act  to  legalize  the  lease  of  certain  school  lands  therein 
mentioned. 

An  act  to  change  the  name  of  Aberdeen  Female  Academy, 
and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  the  Hernando  Female 
Academy  to  transfer  the  institution. 
An  act  to  reduce  into  one  the  several  acts  heretofore 
passed  in   relation   to  sixteenth  sections  and  common 
schools,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  county  of  Hinds. 
An  act  to  incorporate  Eudocia  Female  College,  in  the 
town  of  Black  Hawk,  county  of  Carroll. 
An  act  to  increase  the  common  school  fund  of  the  county 
of  Tishomingo. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  entitled,  ''an  act  to  amend  'an 
act  to  establish  a  system  of  common  schools,'  approved 
March  4,  1846,"  approved  March  4,  1848,  so  far  as  same 
applies  to  the  county  of  Adams,  and  for  other  purposes. 
An  act  to  further  endow  the  University  of  Mississippi. 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  provide  for  and  establish  com- 
mon schools  in  the  counties  of  Hinds,  Holmes,  Tunica, 
Jefferson,  Wilkinson,  Lawrence,  and  Amite. 
An  act  to  extend  to  the  counties  of  Monroe  and  Rankin 
the  provisions  of  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  repeal  an 
act  to  establish  a  system  of  common  schools,  approved 
March  4,  1846,  so  far  as  the  same  relates  to  the  counties 
of  Noxubee,  Lowndes,  etc.,  approved  March  4,  1848. 


Reference 
-83. 


311- 

395-96- 

490-91. 

226-28. 

160-67. 
230-31. 

249-52. 

268. 

279. 

209-10. 

132-41. 

361-63. 
280. 


127. 
129. 


142. 


APPENDIX  B  l8l 

Reference 

An   act   supplemental   to  an  act   to  establish   common     156. 

schools  in  the  county  of  Holmes. 

An  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common  schools  and  to     149-53. 

regulate  the  leasing  of  school  sections  in  Washington 

County. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common     159. 

schools,  approved  March  4,   1846,  so  far  as  the  same 

relates  to  the  county  of  Simpson. 

An  act  to  legalize  all  sales  of  sixteenth  sections  in  Copiah,     243. 

Sunflower,  Coahoma,  and  Hancock  counties. 

An  act  to  repeal  the  fifth  section  of  an  act  approved     272. 

March  i,  1848,  entitled,  ''an  act  requiring  the  treasurers 

of  Pontotoc  and  Lafayette  counties  to  lend  the  school 

fund  of  said  counties. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Salem  High  School  Association,     452-53. 

in  the  county  of  Greene. 

An  act  for  the  benefit  of  the  Macon  Female  Institute,     474-77- 

the  Male  Academy  in  the  town  of  Macon,  and  for  the 

promotion  of  education. 

An  act  to  establish  a  system  of  schools  in  the  county  of     147-48. 

Scott. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  establish  a     149. 

system  of  common  schools,  "approved  March  4,  1846, 

so  far  as  same  applies  to  T.  17,  R.  5,  E.  in  Warren  County. 

An  act  to  return  certain  taxes  illegally  assessed  on  lands     193-94. 

of  Jefferson  College. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Almucha  Academy.  403-4 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  Benjamin  W.  Leggett,  and  for    479. 

other  purposes,     (Sixteenth  section  lease.) 

An  act  to  incorporate  Kemper  College.  443-45. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  citizens  of  fractional  T.  17,  248. 

R.  19,  in  Lowndes  County,  to  organize  a  board  of  trustees 

consisting  of  three  members. 

An  act   concerning  common  schools  in   the  county  of     145. 

Jefferson. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  state  commissioner  to  sell  the     69 

lands  belonging  to  the  seminary,  lying  in  the  different 

counties  in  this  state. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  T.  5,  R.  5,  E.,  in  Rankin     257. 

County,  to  make  titles  to  the  sixteenth  section  of  said 

township. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  sales  of  sixteenth  sections  in  the     281. 

county  of  Smith. 


i82         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  for  the  relief  of  John  Patterson.     490. 

(Sixteenth  section  lease.) 

An    act    to    amend    the    acts    incorporating    Louisville     272. 

Academy. 

A  resolution  in  relation  to  school  lands.  512. 

An  act  to  promote  common  schools  in  the  several  counties     67. 

of  the  state. 

An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  entitled,  *'an  act  to  pro-     142-43- 

mote  common  schools  in  the  several  counties   of    the 

state,"  so  far  as  relates  to  Lauderdale  County. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common     157-59- 

schools,  approved  March  4,   1846,  so  far  as  the  same 

relates  to  the  county  of  Warren. 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  the  Natchez  Orphans'  Asylum.  478. 

A  resolution  in  relation  to  the  University  of  Mississippi.     516. 

1850 — November 
An  act  to  change  the  name  of  the  Mississippi  Academy     32. 
and  to  authorize  the  institution  to  lend  its  funds  at 
10  per  cent  per  annum. 

An   act   to   incorporate   the   Euclid   Male   and   Female     34-35- 
Academy  in  the  county  of  Tishomingo. 

1852 — January-March 
An  act  relative  to  the  Liberty  Male  and  Female  Academy     472. 
in  Amite  County. 

An  act  in  relation  to  the  sixteenth  sections  and  common     476-82. 
schools  in  Issaquena  County. 

An  act  to  amend  the  charter  of  the  Lexington  Male  and     421. 
Female  Academy. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Choctaw  Collegiate  Institute,     221-23; 
and  for  other  purposes.  43^-33- 

An  act  to  incorporate  Wilmarth  College  at  Natchez.  437-38. 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  Fayette  Academy  in  the  county     436. 
of  Jefferson. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  sale  of  the  sixteenth  sections  in  the    443-44- 
counties  of  Newton  and  Wayne,  and  for  other  purposes. 
An  act   to  legalize  the  leases  of  sixteenth  sections  in     455-56. 
Simpson  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Newton  Institute.  458-59- 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  Pleasant  Hill     473. 
Male  and  Female  Academy. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  board  of  police  of  Yalobusha     459-6o. 
County  to  provide  for  the  distribution  of  the  common 
school  funds,  and  for  other  purposes. 


APPENDIX  B 

An  act  to  establish  a  common  school  system  in  the  town 
of  Shieldsborough  in  the  county  of  Hancock. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Enon  High  School    in    the 
county  of  Perry. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Yalobusha  Baptist  Female 
Institute. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  schools  and  school 
lands  in  townships  9  and  10,  R.  4,  E.,  in  the  county  of 
Madison,  to  appropriate  the  interest  annually  arising 
from  the  funds  due  said  township  to  the  erection  of  a 
college  in  the  town  of  Sharon. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Mississippi  Female  College,  in  the 
town  of  Hernando,  De  Soto  County. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Cold  Water  Baptist  Female 
Seminary  in  the  town  of  Chulahoma,  county  of  Marshall. 
An  act  to  repeal  an  act  supplemental  to  an  act  to  pro- 
mote common  schools,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  county 
of  Lauderdale. 

An  act  in  regard  to  sixteenth  sections  in  the  county  of 
Winston. 

An  act  to  amend  the  several  acts  incorporating  the 
Louisville  Academy  in  Winston  County. 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  provide  for  the  establishment 
of  common  schools  in  the  counties  of  Hinds,  etc.,  approved 
March  4,  1848,  and  an  act  to  amend  said  act,  approved 
March  4,  1850,  and  for  other  purposes,  so  far  as  the  same 
relates  to  Wilkinson  County. 

An  act  incorporating  a  board  of  trustees  for  the  Collegiate 
High  School  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  in 
Columbus. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  for  the  benefit  of  Macon  Female 
Institute  and  the  Male  Academy,  etc.,  approved  March  4, 
1850. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  **an  act  to  amend  the 
school  law  of  March  4,  1846,  so  far  as  the  same  relates  to 
the  county  of  Choctaw,"  approved  February  6,  1850. 
An  act  to  incorporate  Maple  Spring  JMale  Academy  in 
Tippah  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  JNIasonic  and  Odd  Fellows 
High  School  at  Bankston  in  the  county  of  Choctaw. 
An  act  to  extend  certain  portions  of  an  act  entitled,  "an  act 
to  provide  for  the  education  of  poor  children  in  the  county 
of  Issaquena,"  approved  February  26,  1850,  to  the  county 
of  Franklin. 


183 


Reference 
486-90. 

411-13. 

407-8. 

385-86. 


413-14- 

404. 

402. 

395-96. 
397-98. 
399-400. 

375-76. 

375. 

376. 

287-88. 
290-92, 

393-94- 


i84         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  further  endow  the  University     189-90. 
of  Mississippi,  approved  March  5,  1850. 

An  act  to  authorize  certain  boards  of  township  trustees     212-13. 
to  make  titles. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Kosciusko  Masonic  Female     236-38. 
College  in  the  town  of  Kosciusko. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Bascom  Female  Seminary  in  the     292-93. 
town  of  Grenada. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Madison  College  in  the  town     272-75. 
of  Sharon,  Madison  County. 

An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  amendatory  of  an  act     339-41. 
entitled,  "an  act  to  reduce  into  one  the  several  acts  here- 
tofore passed  in  relation  to  sixteenth  sections  and  com- 
mon schools,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  county  of  Hinds." 
An  act  to  regulate  the  granting  of  licenses  to  retailers  of     230-32. 
vinous  and  spirituous  liquors  in  the  county  of  Holmes. 
An  act  to  legalize  the  sale  of  the  sixteenth  section  of  T.  5,     235. 
R.  16  E.  in  the  county  of  Kemper. 

An  act  in  relation  to  schools  in  Yazoo  County.  236. 

An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  incor-     221-22. 
porate  the  Choctaw  Collegiate  Institute,"  approved  Janu- 
ary 27,  1852. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  supplemental  to  an  act  entitled,     190-91. 
"an   act   to   estabUsh   a   system   of   common   schools," 
approved  March  3,  1848. 

An   act  to  incorporate  the   Mary   Washington    Female     149-53- 
College,  at  or  near  Pontotoc,  Mississippi. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  establish  a     156. 
system  of   common   schools   in   the   county   of   Scott," 
approved  March  5,  1850. 

An  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common  schools  in  the    318-19. 
counties  of  Newton  and  Clarke. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  lease  of  the  sixteenth  section  in     238. 
T.  6,  R.  I,  W.  in  the  county  of  Hinds. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  lease  of  a  portion  of  the  sixteenth     286. 
section,  T.  5,  R.  i  E.,  in  the  county  of  Hinds. 
An  act  to  incorporate  Pleasant  Ridge  Male  and  Female     315-16. 
Academy  in  Tippah  County. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common     318-19. 
schools,  approved  March  4,  1846,  so  far  as  they  relate  to 
the  county  of  Franklin. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  construction  of  a  levee  upon     41-49. 
the  Mississippi  River,  for  the  reclamation  of  state  and 
school  lands,  and  for  other  purposes. 


APPENDIX  B  185 

Reference 

An  act  supplementary  to  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  pro-     146-48. 

mote  common  schools  in  the  several  counties  in  this  state," 

approved  March  9,  1850. 

An  act  to  extend  certain  portions  of  an  act  to  provide  for     325. 

the  education  of  poor  children  in  the  county  of  Issaquena, 

etc.,  to  the  county  of  Jefferson,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  stockholders  and  trustees  of    326-27. 

the  Middleton  Female  Seminary. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Greenwood  Female  Institute  in     331-32. 

the  county  of  Jasper. 

An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  to  establish  an  institution     92-93. 

for  the  instruction  of  the  blind,  approved  March  8,  1850. 

An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  pro-     244. 

vide  for  the  leasing  of  the  Chickasaw   school  lands," 

approved  February  23,  1848. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  management  of  schools  and     313-15. 

school  funds  in  the  county  of  Copiah. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Southern  Scientific  Institute.       343-44. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Simpson  Male  and  Female    345. 

Seminary  in  Simpson  County. 

An  act  in  reference  to  the  school  fund  in  Madison  County.     349-50. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act,  approved  February  27,  1833,  in     354-55. 

relation  to  trustees  of  school  lands. 

An  act  in  relation  to  the  common  school  fund  of  Oktib-     383-84. 

beha  County. 

1852 — October 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  in  regard  to  the     152. 

sixteenth  sections  in  the  county  of  Winston,"  approved 

February  25,  1852. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Presbyterian  Female  Collegiate     139-40. 

Institute  of  Pontotoc. 

An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  to  amend  an  act  in  relation     165. 

to  establishing  a  system  of  common  schools  in  the  counties 

of  Newton  and  Clarke,  in  so  far  as  relates  to  the  latter. 

An  act  to  secure  the  county  of  Calhoun  its  quota  of  the     166-67. 

common  school  fund  disbursed  from  the  state  treasury. 

An  act  to  incorporate  a  literary  institution  near  Jackson,     26-27, 

in  the  county  of  Hinds,  under  the  name  of  the  College  of 

St.  Andrews. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  inhabitants  of  fractional  Town-     1 16-17. 

ship  19,  S.,  R.  18,  W.,  in  the  county  of  Lowndes,  to  sell 

and  convey  in  fee  simple  the  land  heretofore  selected, 

approved  and  reserved for  the  support  of  schools 

in  said  fractional  township. 


l86         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

An  act  to  amend  the  several  acts  of  this  state  in  relation     194-97. 
to  common  schools,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  county  of  Jasper. 
An  act  to  legalize  the  lease  of  section  16,  T.  15,  R.  8,  E.     88. 
in  the  county  of  Attala. 

An  act  amendatory  to  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  estab-     59-60. 
lish  a  system  of  common  schools,"  approved  March  4, 
1846. 

An  act  explanatory  of  an  act  supplementary  to  an  act     60-61. 
entitled,  "an  act  to  provide  for  the  leasing  of  the  Chicka- 
saw school  lands,"  approved  March  16,  1852. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Canton  Female  Institute  in  the     90-91. 
town  of  Canton,  Madison  County. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  prescribe  the  mode  of  applying     93-94. 
school  funds  in  Tippah  County,  approved  March  8,  1850, 
and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  for  the  benefit  of  the  Natchez  Orphan  Asylum.  114. 

An  act  to  authorize  any  citizen  of  any  township  or  frac-     181. 
tional  township  in  the  county  of  Lowndes,  where  no 
trustees  of  schools  or  school  funds  have  been  elected,  to 
proceed  to  the  election  of  trustees  for  such  township  or 
fractional  township. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Crawfordsville  Male  and  Female     1 53-54- 
institutes  in  the  county  of  Lowndes. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  lease  of  section  16,  in  T.  15,  R.  5,  E.     91-92. 
of  the  Columbus  land  district. 
An  act  for  the  benefit  of  the  state  university.  47-48. 

1854 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  provide  for     392. 
the   management   of   schools   and   school  funds  in   the 
county  of  Copiah,"  approved  March  16,  1852. 
An  act  to  authorize  the  school  commissioners  of  Clarke    400. 
County  to  make  and  execute  a  good  and  valid  lease  to 
M.  J.  Sumrall  to  certain  lands  therein  named. 
An  act  to  incorporate  the  Monroe  Female  Institute  in    485-86. 
the  town  of  Aberdeen. 

An  act  for  the  benefit  of  sixteenth  sections  in  the  county    446. 
of  Noxubee. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Port  Gibson  Collegiate  Academy    418-19. 
in  the  county  of  Claiborne. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Good  Hope  Academy,  in  the    394. 
county  of  Leake. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  incorporating  the  Cold  Water    356. 
Baptist  Female  Seminary,  approved  February  20,  1852. 


APPENDIX  B  187 

Reference 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  ''an  act  to  reduce  into     385-86. 
one  the  several  acts  heretofore  passed  in  relation  to  six- 
teenth sections  and  common  schools,  so  far  as  relates  to 
the  county  of  Hinds,  approved  March  i,  1850. 
An  act  providing  the  manner  in  which  teachers  of  com-     398. 
mon  schools  in  the  county  of  Copiah  shall  present  their 
claims  to  school  commissioners. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Friendship  Academy  in  the  county     310. 
of  Panola. 

An  act  to  authorize  and  empower  the  board  of  police  of     349-50- 
Madison  County  to  distribute  the  school  fund. 
An  act  to  repeal  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  incorporate     313. 
the  Columbia  Academy  in  the  county  of  Marion." 
An  act  for  the  benefit  of  Mississippi  College.  469-70. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  St.  Mary's  Orphan  Asylum,     356-57- 
a  charitable   and   educational  institution,  in  the  city  of 

Natchez. 

An  act  to  amend  the  charter  of  Jefferson  College.  406. 

An  act  further  to  amend  the  charter  of  Jefferson  College.     389. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  incorporate     208. 

the  trustees  of  Zion  Seminary,"  approved  February  11, 

1846. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Hill  City  Collegiate  Institute.     207. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  providing  for  the  application  of     368. 

the  common  school  fund  in  Marion  County,  approved 

March  3,  1848. 

An  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common  schools  in  the     416-18. 

county  of  Hancock. 

A  resolution  in  relation  to  the  superintendent  of  the  blind     589-90. 

asylum. 

An  act  to  amend  the  common  school  law,  so  far  as  the     361. 

same  relates  to  the  county  of  Pike. 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  Wilmarth   Female  College  at     318. 

Natchez. 

An  act  to  repeal  all  laws  exempting  school  trustees  in     407. 

the  county  of  Claiborne  from  serving  as  jurors. 

An  act  to  corporate  the  Red  Banks  Female  Seminary,     253-54. 

and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Central  Mississippi  Female     289-91. 

College,  in  the  town  of  Lexington,  Holmes  County. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  board  of  school  commissioners  of     456-57- 

the  county  of  Lauderdale  to  sell  the  school  lands  in  said 
county,  and  for  other  purposes. 


i88         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 


An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  promote  com- 
mon schools  in  the  several  counties  of  this  state,"  approved 
March  9,  1850,  so  far  as  the  same  relates  to  the  county  of 
Neshoba. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common 
schools  in  the  counties  of  Newton  and  Clarke,  approved 
March  10,  1852,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  county  of 
Newton. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Central  Female  Institute,  at 
Clinton,  Hinds  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Byhalia  Female  Institute. 
A  resolution  instructing  the  attorney  general  to  demand 
of  the  trustees  of  Jefferson  College  the  sum  of  money 
lent  said  college  by  the  state. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  for  the  benefit 
of  the  state  university,"  approved  October  21,  1852. 
An  act  to  create  in  the  University  of  Mississippi  a  profes- 
sorship of  governmental  science  and  law. 
An  act  to  authorize  the  board  of  poHce  of  Scott  County 
to  apportion  the  school  fund  among  the  police  districts 
thereof,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  the  Southern 
Scientific  Institute. 

An  act  amendatory  of  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  incor- 
porate Maple  Springs  Academy  in  Tippah  County," 
approved  February  28,  1852. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  lease  of  section  16,  T.  12,  R.  5,  E., 
in  the  county  of  Copiah,  and  for  other  purposes. 
An  act  to  legalize  the  lease  of  section  16,  T.  10,  R.  21,  W. 
in  Simpson  County. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings 
for  the  instruction  of  the  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind,  and  for 
other  purposes. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  institution  for  the  bhnd  to  pur- 
chase a  lot  adjoining  said  institute. 

An  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common  schools  in  the 
county  of  Tishomingo,  and  for  other  purposes. 
An  act  to  aid  in  the  estabHshment  of  a  school  system  in 
FrankUn  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Octograde  Seminary  in  Yalobusha 
County. 

An  act  to  amend  the  charter  of  Jefferson  College. 
An  act  to  authorize  the  printing  of  the  first  annual  report 
of  the  agricultural  and  geological  survey  of  the  state. 


Reference 
1 13-14. 


433-34- 


238-39- 


251 
586 


195' 


160. 


-52. 


458-60. 


257-58. 


326-27. 


352-53- 


382. 


95-97. 


135- 

474-75- 

527-32. 

337-38. 

361-62. 
148-50. 


APPENDIX  B 

An  act  to  incorporate  Newton  College. 

An   act    to    incorporate   Westminster   Academy   in    the 

county  of  Tippah. 

An  act  to  prohibit  the  sale  and  distribution  of  vinous  and 

spirituous  liquors  within  four  miles  of  Zion  Seminary. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of 

T.  lo,  R.  2,  E.,  in  Madison  and  Yazoo  counties,  approved 

February  24,  1842. 

An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  to  provide  for  the  leasing 

of  the  Chickasaw  School  Lands,  approved  February  23, 


189 


Reference 

457-58. 
429-30. 

373- 
569-70. 


348-49. 


R.  2,  W.,  to 
school  fund 


260-61 


371- 

206-7. 
570-74. 


552-53- 


324- 


An  act  to  authorize  the  legal  voters  of  T.  6, 

elect  five  trustees  to   take  charge  of  the 

belonging  to  said  township. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Union  Seminary,  in  De  Soto    428-29 

County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Union  Female  College  of  the 

Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church  at  Oxford. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Coffeeville  Female  Institute. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  to  prescribe  the  mode  of  applying 

the  school  funds  of  Tippah  County,  approved  March  8, 

1850,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  amend  the  several  laws  in  relation  to  common 

schools,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  county  of  Jones. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  establish  a 

common  school  system  in  the  town  of  Shieldsborough," 

approved  February  5,  1852. 

1856 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  the  Presbyterian     403-4 
Female  Collegiate  Institute,  of  Pontotoc,  approved  Octo- 
ber 14,  1852. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Okolona  Female  Institute. 
An  act  in  relation  to  the  school  fund  of  T.  13,  R.  2,  E.  in 
Claiborne  County. 

An  act  to  unite  fractional  T.  9,  R.  2,  W.,  and  T.  8,  R.  2, 
W.,  in  Adams  County,  into  one  school  district. 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  amend  an  act 
to  incorporate  the  Hernando  Academy,"  etc.,  approved 
January  23,  1852. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  State  Female  College  of  Missis- 
sippi. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Eastport  Female  Institute, 
county  of  Tishomingo. 


388-89. 

374. 
424. 

383-84. 
210-11. 


I90         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

An  act  to  incorporate  Calhoun  Institute.  169. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Byhalia  Male  Academy,  Marshall     219-20. 

County. 

An  act  to  amend  the  common  school  laws  so  far  as  the     128-29. 

same  relate  to  Itawamba  County. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  acts  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the    358-59. 

Sixteenth  Section  Fund  of  T.  13,  R.  3,  E.  of  Holmes 

County. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  in  reference  to  common  schools  in     367. 

T.  6,  R.  2,  W.,  in  the  county  of  Hinds,  approved  March  2, 

1854. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  Newton  College,     346-47. 

approved  March  i,  1854. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Okolona  Academy.  402. 

An  act  to  prescribe  the  mode  of  applying  the  school  fund    360. 

of  Panola  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Mississippi  Masonic  Female    355-56. 

College  in  the  county  of  Claiborne. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  incorporating  the  Yalobusha     420. 

Baptist  Female  Institute. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Amite  Female  Seminary  in     317-18. 

the  town  of  Liberty. 

An  act  to  amend  the  several  laws  in  relation  to  common     325-28. 

schools  and  school  lands  so  far  as  the  same  relate  to  the 

county  of  Franklin. 

An  act  to  amend  the  common  school  law  so  far  as  the     406. 

same  relates  to  the  county  of  Pike,  approved  February  25, 

1854. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  sales  of  the  sixteenth  sections  and    430-31- 

parts  of  sections  in  Lauderdale  County  made  in  the  year 

1854. 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  the  state  university.  76. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  interest  on  the     141-48. 

Chickasaw  School  Fund,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Canaan  Male  and  Female  Academy,     403. 

in  the  county  of  Tippah. 

An  act  to  amend  the  charter  of  Mississippi  College.  209. 

An  act  to  change  the  time  of  electing  trustees  in  Claiborne     93. 

County. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  to  incorporate  the  Grenada  Male     174-76. 

and  Female  academies. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Oak  Bowery  Academy.  171. 

An  act  to  amend  the  laws  now  in  force  in  relation  to  the     223-24. 

entry  and  sale  of  the  Chickasaw  school  and  state  lands. 


APPENDIX  B  191 

Reference 

An  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  amend  the  school  laws  so  far     379-80. 

as  the  same  relate  to  the  county  of  Marion." 

An  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common  schools  in  the     109-15- 

county  of  Simpson. 

An  act  to  secure  the  interest  on  the  school  funds  belong-     81-86. 

ing  to  the  counties  embraced  in  the  Chickasaw  cession, 

and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  for  the  benefit  of  the  blind.    (For  Bhnd  Institute.)     343- 

1856-57 — Adjourned  Session 
An  act  supplemental  to  an  act  to  provide  for  the  pay-     100. 
ment  of  interest  on  the  Chickasaw  School  Funds,  approved 
March  7,  1856. 
An  act  to  amend  the  laws  in  relation  to  the  University  of     109-10. 

Mississippi. 

An  act  to  establish  an  institution  for  the  instruction  of     1 16-18. 

the  blind. 

An  act  to  establish  an  institution  for  the  deaf  and  dumb.     1 14-16. 

1857 
An  act  to  revive  certain  laws  in  Leake  County  concern-     129-30. 
ing  common  schools,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  distribute  Harper's  Report  on  the  Geology  of     142-43- 
Mississippi. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  ''an  act  to  reduce  into     141. 
one  the  several  acts  heretofore  passed  in  relation  to  six- 
teenth sections  and  commons  schools,  so  far  as  they  relate 
to  Hinds  County,  approved  March  i,  1850. 

An  act  in  relation  to  the  school  funds  of  the  county  of     150-52. 
Neshoba. 

An  act  legalizing  the  sale  of  the  sixteenth  section  of     130. 
T.  19,  R.  I,  W.  Sunflower  County. 

An  act  for  the  annual  support  of  the  Institute  for  the    40-41. 
Deaf  and  Dumb. 

An  act  for  the  support  of  the  Asylum  for  the  Blind  for    42. 
the  years  1858  and  1859. 

An  act  to  establish  a  State  Agricultural  Bureau,  together    44-51- 
with  county  agricultural  societies  subordinate  thereto,  and 
for  the  promotion  of  agricultural  and  mechanical  science. 
An  act  to  legalize  the  leases  of  the  sixteenth  section  in     163. 
T.  15,  R.  7,  E.  in  Attala  County. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act   to  incorporate  the  Fayette     88-90. 
Female  Academy  in  Jefferson  County. 
An  act  to  amend  the  school  laws  of  Marion  County.  1 15-19- 


192 


EDUCATION.\L  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI, 


An  act  to  authorize  the  citizens  of  fractional  townships 

in  the  count  of  Oktibbeha  to  organize  a  board  of  school 

trustees. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  board  of  school  commissioners 

of  De  Soto  County  to  pay  certain  claims  for  the  tuition  of 

destitute  children. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  printing  of  the  second  annual 

report  of  the  agricultural  and  geological  survey  of  the 

state,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  for  the  relief  and  support  of  the  poor  (apprentices) . 


An  act  to  appropriate  fines,  etc.,  to  common  schools. 

1858 
An  act  to  amend  the  school  laws  in  the  county  of  Tisho- 
mingo. 

An  act  for  the  benefit  of  Semple  Broaddus  College,  or 
University,  of  De  Soto  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Historical  Society  of  Mississippi. 
An  act  for  the  rehef  of  Jefferson  College. 
An  act  to  revive  an  act  to  amend  the  several  school  laws 
of  this  state  in  relation  to  common  schools,  so  far  as  relates 
to  Chickasaw  County,  approved  February  16,  1850. 
An  act  to  exempt  from  tax  the  Summerville  Institute 
and  Female  Seminary  located  at  Summerville,  Noxubee 
County. 

An  act  to  amend  the  several  acts  in  relation  to  the  com- 
pensation of  the  commissioners  of  common  schools  of 
Copiah  County. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act,  approved  November  19,  1857, 
entitled,  "an  act  to  amend  the  school  laws  of  Harrison 
(Marion)  County." 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  secure  the 
interest  on  the  school  funds  belonging  to  the  counties 
embraced  in  the  Chickasaw  cession,"  approved  March  12, 
1856. 

An  act  to  provide  for  and  establish  common  schools  in 
the  county  of  Smith. 

An  act  concerning  the  school  fund  of  T.  17,  R.  16,  E.  in 
the  county  of  Lowndes. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  secure  the  interest  on  the 
school  fund  belonging  to  the  counties  in  the  Chickasaw 
cession,  and  for  other  purposes. 


1798-1860 

Reference 

159- 


131. 
113-14. 

Revised 

(1857), 
213-14. 
Ibid., 
290-92. 

211. 

177. 

161-62, 

170. 

193- 


CodCy 


148. 


149. 


133- 


77- 


120-21. 


APPENDIX  H  193 

Reference 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  receive   the     181-82. 

interest  on  the  school  funds  belonging  to  the  counties 

embraced  in  the  Chickasaw  cession,  so  far  as  it  relates  to 

the  county  of  Pontotoc  and  other  counties  therein  named. 

An  act  to  change  the  name  of  the  Mississippi  Masonic     141-42. 

Female  College. 

A  joint  resolution  relating  to  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum     230. 

An  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common  schools  in  Copiah     94-99. 

County. 

An  act  to  regulate  common  schools  in  the  counties  of     184-85. 

Perry  and  Greene. 

An  act  to  be  entitled,  "an  act  to  provide  for  the  payment     192-93- 

of  the  tuition  of  the  destitute  and  orphan  children  in  the 

county  of  Panola." 

An  act  to  appropriate  all  fines,  etc.,  arising  in  the  town     216. 

of  Woodville  to  the  public  school  of  the  corporation  of 

the  said  town. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  board  of  police  of  the  county  of     216-17. 

Wilkinson  to  levy  an  additional  school  tax  to  make  up 

the  defalcation  of  the  late  sheriff  of  said  county  on  account 

of  public  school  fund,  etc. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  establish  a     226. 

system  of  common  schools  in  the  county  of  Simpson." 

An  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  confirm  the  sale  of  the  sixteenth     212. 

section  of  T.  18,  R.  4,  W.  in  the  county  of  Simpson." 

An  act  in  reference  to  the  Chickasaw  School  Fund.  144. 

An  act  to  amend  the  charter  of  the  Port  Gibson  Academy.     121-22. 

An  act  to  prohibit  the  sale  of  vinous  and  spirituous     186. 

liquors  in  the  vicinity  of  Jefferson  College. 

A  resolution  that  ten  copies  of  the  Revised  Code  and  the     227. 

same  number  of  state  reports  be  furnished  the  library  of 

the  university. 

Resolution  appointing  a  commissioner  to  investigate  the     231-32. 

Seminary  Fund. 

An  act  in  relation  to  the  Blind  Asylum.  192. 

1859-60 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  establish  a     41-42. 
system  of  common  schools  in  the  county  of  Simpson,  so 
far  as  said  act  extends  to  Covington  County." 
An  act  to  amend  the  school  laws  of  Franklin  County.  46-47- 

An  act  to  amend  the  school  laws  of  Itawamba  County.         47. 
An  act  to  amend  an  act  approved  March  1 1 ,  1856,  entitled,      85. 
"an  act  to  repeal  an  act  to  incorporate  the  Grenada  Male 
and  Female  academies." 


194         EDUCATION.\L  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  regulate  the     76. 

common  schools  in  the  counties  of  Perry  and  Greene." 

An  act  to  authorize  the  school  commissioner  of  De  Soto     79. 

County    to    apply    the    surplus   common   school   funds 

belonging  to  said  county  to  the  education  of  the  next 

most  needy  class. 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  the  purchasers  of  the  sixteenth     70. 

sections  in  the  county  of  Greene,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  amend  the  school  laws  of  Leake  County.  79- 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  secure  the  interest  on  the     87-88. 

school  fund  belonging  to  the  counties  embraced  in  the 

Chickasaw  cession,  so  far  as  same  relates  to  the  county 

of  Calhoun. 

An  act  to  repeal  the  common  school  law  of    Copiah     72-73. 

County,approvedDecember3,i858,andforotherpurposes. 

An  act  further  to  regulate  the  qualifications  of  trustees     112. 

of  schools  in  the  county  of  Carroll. 

An  act  to  amend  the  laws  in  relation  to  common  schools     147-48. 

so  far  as  they  relate  to  Wilkinson  County. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  secure  the  interest  on  the     134- 

school  fund  belonging  to  the  Chickasaw  cession,  so  far 

as  the  same  relates  to  the  county  of  Tishomingo. 

An  act  to  authorize  the  trustees  of  T.  11,  R.  i,  E.,  in  Yazoo     154- 

County,  to  distribute  the  school  funds  thereof. 

An  act  to  provide  for  and  establish  common  schools  in     167-71. 

the  county  of  Choctaw. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  provide  for     239. 

common  schools  in  the  counties  of  Hinds,  Holmes,"  etc., 

approved  March  4,  1848,  so  far  as  the  same  relates  to 

the  county  of  Amite. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled,  "an  act  to  amend  the     299. 

school  laws  of  Marion  County,"  approved  November  19, 

1857. 

An  act  for  the  relief  of  J.  F.  Wright,  assignee  of  school    311. 

lands  in  T.  23,  R.  8,  W.  in  Bolivar  County. 

An  act  for  the  benefit  of  T.  5,  R-  i,  E.  in  Rankin  County.     321. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  the  Male  and     278-80. 

Female  academies  of  Houston,  passed  January  24,  1844. 

An  act  to  amend  the  common  school  laws  of  Pike  County.     336-39- 

An  act  to  authorize  the  lease  of  a  portion  of  the  section  of     178. 

land  on  which  the  University  of  Mississippi  is  located. 

An   act   to   incorporate   the   Vernal   Male   and   Female     197-98. 

Academy  in  Greene  County. 


APPENDIX  B  195 

Reference 

An  act  for  the  benefit  of  schools  in  T.  5,  R.  3,  E.,  county     312. 

of  Rankin. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the  institution  for     531-33. 

the  instruction  of  the  deaf  and  dumb. 

An  act  for  the  benefit  of  Frankhn  Academy  in  the  town     300-31. 

of  Columbus. 

An  act  for  the  benefit  of  the  Fayette  Female  Academy.         283-84. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  trustees  of  the  Yazoo  Educa-     470-71. 

tional  Association. 

An  act  for  the  rehef  of  the  purchasers  of  the  sixteenth     453-54. 

sections  in  Jasper  and  Frankhn  counties. 

An  act  to  prohibit  the  sale  and  the  gratuitous  distribu-     555-59. 

tion  of  vinous,  spirituous,  and  fermenting  liquors  within 

four  miles  of  Westville  Seminary,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  incorporate  Wilson  Hall  in  Marshall  County.         264-65. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Aberdeen  Masonic  Male  High     403-4. 

School. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Amite  County  Female  Academy.     409-10. 

An  act   to  incorporate  the  Willard  Male  and  Female     417-18. 

academies  at  Flewellen's  Cross  Roads,  in  De  Soto  County. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Masonic  Female  Seminary  in     438. 

the  county  of  Marshall. 

An  act  to  prevent  the  sale  of  vinous  or  spirituous  Hquors     471. 

within  three  miles  of  Slate  Springs  Academy,  in  Calhoun 

County. 

An  act  to  regulate  common  schools  and  school  funds  in     456-57. 

the  county  of  Wayne. 

An  act  to  aid  indigent  children  in  the  counties  of  Oktib-     482-86. 

beha,  Clarke,  and  Jasper,  in  procuring  an  education,  and 

for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  establish  common  schools  in  the  county  of     551-54. 

Noxubee. 

An  act  to  ratify  and  render  vahd  sales  of  land  in  section  16,     22^. 

T.  2,  R.  14,  E.  in  the  county  of  Clarke. 

An  act  to  legalize  the  leases  of  certain  sixteenth  section     22^-2^. 

lands  in  Kemper  County. 

An  act  in  relation  to  schools  and  school  lands,  in  T.  17,     365-66. 

R.  5,  E.  in  Warren  County. 

An  act  to  extend  the  provisions  of  an  act  for  the  relief  of     238-39^, 

the  State  University,  approved  March  6,  1856,  for  two 

years  after  the  sixth  of  March  next,  and  for  other  purposes. 

An  act  to  further  amend  the  laws  in  relation  to  the  sale  of     320-21. 

vinous  and  spirituous  liquors  within  the  prescribed  limits 

of  the  University  of  Mississippi. 


196         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Reference 

A  resolution  in  relation  to  the  Seminary  Fund.  391-93- 

An   act   to   incorporate   the   Brandon   State    (Militarj'-)     355-56. 

Institute. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  reduce  into  one  the  several     379-80- 

acts  heretofore  passed,  in  relation  to  sixteenth  sections 

and  common  schools,  so  far  as  same  relates  to  Hinds 

County. 

An  act  to  more  fully  secure  the  school  fund  of  Calhoun     507-8. 

County. 

An  act  to  establish  a  system  of  common  schools  in  the     521-31. 

county   of    Coahoma,    and   for   other   purposes.     (Also 

Sunflower.) 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  provide  for  the  payment  of     193. 

interest  on  the  Chickasaw  School  Fund,  and  for  other 

purposes. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
I.     PRIMARY  SOURCES 

Census  of  the  United  States,  The  Seventh:  1850.  Embracing  a  statistical  view 
of  each  of  the  states  and  territories,  arranged  by  counties,  towns,  etc. 
Compiled  by  J.  D.  B.  DeBow.     Washington:   Robert  Armstrong,  1853. 

Census  of  the  United  States,  The  Eighth:  i860.  Volumes  on  "Population'' 
and  '^Mortality  and  Miscellaneous  Statistics."  Compiled  by  Joseph 
C.  G.  Kennedy.    Washington:    Government  Printing  Office,  1864  and 

Constitutions  of  the  State  of  Mississippi,   1817  and  1833.     I^  Volume  IV 

of    The  Federal   and  State  Constitutions,    Colonial   Charters,   and   Other 

Organic  Laws  of  the  States,  Territories,  and    Colonies.     Compiled     and 

edited    by    Francis    N.    Thorpe.     Washington:    Government    Printing 

Office,  1909. 
House  Journals  of  Mississippi,  181 1,  1817-18,  1821-29,   1831-36,   1840-48, 

1854-60. 
Laws  of  Mississippi,  1802-1860. 

1.  Mississippi  Territory. 

Manuscript  Laws  of  Mississippi  Territory:  1802,  1803,  1804,  1806, 
1807  (First  Session),  1811,  1814,  1816.    In  Mississippi  Archives,  Series  D. 

Printed  Session  Laws,  contemporary  editions:  1807  (December),  1809 
(February),  1809  (November),  181 5. 

Statutes  of  the  Mississippi  Territory.  Digested  by  authority  ot  the 
general  assembly.     Natchez:   Peter  Isler,  printer  to  the  territory,  1816. 

2.  State  of  Mississippi: 

Laws  of  the  State  of  Mississippi.  Embracing  all  acts  of  a  public  nature 
from  January  session,  1824,  to  January  session,  1838,  inclusive.  Published 
by  authority.     Jackson,  Mississippi,  1838. 

Manuscript  Laws:  1817-18,  1833  (January-February).  Mississippi 
Archives,  Series  I,  Nos.  i  and  20. 

Printed  Session  Laws,  contemporary  editions:  1819,  1S20,  1821 
(January),  1821  (November),  1822,  1822-23,  1824,  1825,  1826,  1827,  1828, 
1829, 1830  (January  February),  1830  (November),  183 1, 1833  (November), 
1836,  1837,  1838,  1839,  1840,  1841,  1842,  1843,  1844,  1846,  1S48,  1850 
(January-February),  1850  (November),  1852  (January-February),  1852 
(November),  1854,  1856,  i856-57>  1857  (November),  1858,  1859-60. 
The  Official  and  Statistical  Register  of  the  State  of  Mississippi.  Compiled  by 
Dunbar  Rowland,  director  of  the  Department  of  Archives  and  History. 
Nashville,  Tennessee:   Brandon  Printing  Co.,  1908. 

197 


igS         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  179S-1S60 

The  Official  and  Statistical  Register  of  the  State  of  Mississippi.     Compiled  by 

Dunbar  Rowland,  director  of  the  Department  of  Archives  and  History. 

Madison,  Wisconsin:  Democrat  Printing  Co.,  1917. 
Mississippi  Territorial  Archives,  I.     Compiled  by  Dunbar  Rowland.     Nash- 
ville, Tennessee:   Brandon  Printing  Co.,  1905. 
Newspaper  Files: 

Mississippi  Messenger,  Natchez,  1806-8. 

The  Mississippian,  Jackson,  1835-42. 

The  Natchez  Daily  Courier,  1837-38,  1840,  1842,  1852-60. 

The  Natchez  Weekly  Courier  and  Journal,  1837-43,  1846-48. 

The  Natchez  Gazette,  1825-27. 

The  Port  Gibson  Correspondent,  Port  Gibson,  1824-25.  1835-42. 

The  Southern  Galaxy,  Natchez,  1828-30. 

The  State  Gazette,  Natchez,  1S18-25. 

The  Statesman  and  Gazette,  Natchez,  1818-23. 

The  Washington  Republican,  Washington,  1813-23. 

The  Weekly  Chronicle,  Natchez,  1808-10. 
Record   of   Incorporations,    1857-83.     The    original    manuscript    record    of 

charters  granted  by  the  governor  of  Mississippi.     In  the  office  of  the 

secretary  of  state,  Jackson,  Mississippi. 
Revised  Code  of  the  Statute  Laws  of  the  State  of  Mississippi.     Published  by 

authority  of  the  legislature.     Jackson,  Mississippi:    E.  Barksdale,  state 

printer,  1857. 
Senate  Journals  of  Mississippi,  1822,  1823,  1824,  1825,  1826,  1827,  1828,  1829, 

1830,  1838,  1840,  1841,  1842,  1843,  1844,  1846,  1850,  1852,  1854,  1856, 

1858,  1860-61. 
The  Public  Statutes  at  Large  of  the  United  States  of  America  from  the  Organization 

of  the  Government  in  lySg  to  March  j,  1845,  I-VI,  IX-XI.     Edited  by 

Richard  Peters.     Boston:  Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  1856. 

11.     SECONDARY  SOURCES 
Baldwin,  J.  G.     The  Flush  Times  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi.     New  York: 

D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1853. 
Barnard,  Henry.     The  American  Journal  of  Education,  I.     New  York:    N.  A. 

Calkins,  1856. 
Blackmar,  F.  W.     "  The  History  of  Federal  and  State  Aid  to  Higher  Education 

in  the  United   States,"   United   States  Bureau  of  Education,  Circular 

of  Information,  No.  i.     Washington:     Government  Printing  Office,  1890. 
Blandin,  I.  M.  E.     History  of  Higher  Education  of  Women  in  the  South  Prior 

to  i860.     New  York  and  Washington:   Neale  Publishing  Co.,  1909. 
Brandon,   G.  C.     ''Historic  Adsuns  County,"  Publications  of  the  Mississippi 

Historical  Society,  II,  207-18,  Oxford,  Mississippi,  1899. 
Broiigh,  C.  H.     "Historic  Clinton,"  Publications  of  the  Mississippi  Historical 

Society,  VII,  281-312.     Oxford,  Mississippi,  1903. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  199 

Brough,  C.  H.     "History  of  Banking  in  Mississippi,"    Publications   of  the 

Mississippi  Historical  Society,  III,  317-40.     Oxford,  Mississippi,  1900. 
Carlton,  F.  T.     ''Economic  Influences  on  Educational  Progress  in  the  United 
States,   1820-1850,"  University  of  Wisconsin  Economics  and  Political 
Science  Series,  IV,  No.  i.     Madison,  Wisconsin:   1908. 
Claiborne,  J.  F.  H.     Mississippi  as  a  Province,  Territory,  and  Stale,  I .     Jackson, 

Mississippi:  Power  &  Barksdale,  1880. 
Cluskey,  M.  W.     Speeches,  Messages,  and  Other  Writings  of  the  Hon.  A.  G. 

Brown.     Philadelphia:  Jas.  B.  Smith  &  Co.,  1859. 

Galloway,   C.   B.     ''Elizabeth   Female  Academy— The   Mother  of   Female 

Colleges,"  Puhlications  of  the  Mississippi  Historical  Society,  II.   169-78. 

Oxford,  Mississippi,  1899. 

Hall,  J.     "A  Brief  History  of  the  Mississippi  Territory,"  Publications  of  the 

^Mississippi  Historical  Society,  IX,  539-75-     Oxford,  Mississippi,   1906. 

Hamilton,  P.  J.     "British  West  Florida,"   Publications  of  the  Mississippi 

Historical  Society,  VII,  399-426.     Oxford,  Mississippi,  1903- 
Hutchinson,  A.     Code  of  Mississippi:  Being  an  Analytical  Compilation  of  the 
Public  and  General  Acts  of  the  Territory  and  State  with  Tabular  References 
to  the  Local  and  Private  Acts  from  1789  to  1848.     Jackson,  Mississippi: 
Price  &  Fall,  state  printers,  1848. 
Leavell,  Z.  T.,  and  Bailey,  T.  J.     A  Complete  History  of  Mississippi  Baptists 
from  the  Earliest  Times,  I  and  II.     Jackson,  Mississippi:    Mississippi 
Baptist  Publishing  Co.,  1904. 
Lowry  and  McCardle,  A  History  of  Mississippi  from  the  Discovery  of  the  Great 
River  by  Hernando  De  Soto  to  the  Death  of  Jeferson  Davis,  1 541-1889. 
Jackson,  Mississippi:  R.  H.  Henry  &  Co.,  1891. 
Mayes,  E.     "History  of  Education  in  Mississippi,"  United  States  Bureau  of 
Education,  Circular  of  Information,  No.  2.     Washington:    Government 
Printing  Office,  1899. 
Mayo,  A.  D.     "The  American  Common  School  in  the  Southern  States  during 
the  First  Half  of  the  Republic,  1 790-1840."     Report  of  the  United  States 
Commissioner  of  Education,  1895-96,  pp.  267-331.     Washington:  Govern- 
ment Printing  Oftke,  1897. 
Monette,  J.  W.     History  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  I  and  II.     Xcw  York: 

Harper  &  Brothers,  1846. 
Morrison,  J.  K.     "Early  History  of  Jefferson  College,"  Publications  of  the 

Mississippi  Historical  Society,  II,  1 79-88.     Oxford,  Mississippi,  1899- 
Poindexter,  Geo.     Revised  Code  of  Mississippi.     Natchez,  Mississippi :  Francis 

Baker,  1824. 
Riley,  F.L.    SchoolHistory  of  Mississippi.    Richmond,  Virginia:  B.F.Johnson 

Publishing  Co.,  1900. 
.     "  Sir  William  Dunbar,  the  Pioneer  Scientist  of  :Mississippi,"  Publica- 
tions of  the  Mississippi  Historical  Society,  II,  85-1 12.     Oxford,  Mississippi, 
1899. 


200         EDUCATIONAL  LEGISLATION  IN  MISSISSIPPI,  1798-1860 

Rowland,  D.  Encyclopedia  of  Mississippi  History,  I  and  II.  Madison, 
Wisconsin:   S.  A.  Brant,  1907. 

.     "Plantation  Life  in  ISIississippi  before  the  War,"  Publications  of  the 

Mississippi  Historical  Society,  III,  85-97.     Oxford,  Mississippi,  1900. 

Swift,  F.  H.  A  History  of  Public  Permanent  Common  School  Funds  in  the 
United  States.     New  York:   Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  191 1. 

Timberlake,  E.  "Did  the  Reconstruction  Give  Mississippi  Her  Public 
Schools?"  Publications  of  the  Mississippi  Historical  Society,  XII,  72-93. 
University,  Mississippi:   191 2. 

Wilkins,  J.  M.  "Early  Times  in  Wayne  County,"  Publications  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Historical  Society,  VI,  265-72.     Oxford,  ]Mississippi,  1902. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Academies,  15-16,  21-23,  62-78;  location 
of  territorial,  23;  status  in  1850,  77-78; 
support  of,  63-64,  123-26 

Administration  of  common  schools,  109- 
14 

Apprenticeship,  16,  95 

Appropriations:  Blind  Institute,  101-2; 
common  schools,  60,  122-23;  deaf  and 
dumb  institution,  103-4;  orphan  asy- 
lum, 96;  University  of  Mississippi, 
127-28 

Blind,  Education  of,  16,  100-103 
Brown,   Governor,  Messages  of,  41-42, 
81-82,  100 

Charters,  colleges  and  secondary  schools, 
15-16,  18-23,  62-74,  91-93 

Chickasaw  counties,  56-57 

Chickasaw  fund,  57,  117 

Chickasaw  lands,  57,  115,  116 

Claiborne,  Governor,  Message  of,  17-18, 
24 

Colleges.  See  Higher  Education,  Jeffer- 
son, Mississippi  College,  and  Missis- 
sippi State  Female  College 

Common  School  Act  of  1846,  42-46 

Common  school  funds,  49-53,  118-22. 
See  also,  Chickasaw  fund,  Literary  fund 
and  Sixteenth  section  funds 

Common  schools,  13-15,  39-40,  41-61; 
special  acts  on,  46-49 

Constitutional  provision  on  education,  26 

Copiah  county.  Special  school  acts  for, 
47-49 

County  judges,  Schools  controlled  by, 
26-27 

County  school  funds,  50-53,  118-22 
Curriculum:  common  schools,  39,  53-54; 
academies,  76-77 


Deaf   and    Dumb,    Institution    for, 

103-4 
Defectives,  Education  of,  16,  100-104 
Democratic  ideals,  9,  56 


Educational  ideals,  7 
Educational  societies,  95,  107-8 
Elementary    education,     13-15, 
26-61,  109-14,  116-23 


!3-25, 


16, 


Federal  land  grants,  19-20,  25,  79-80, 
1 15-16 

Female  education,  74-76,  90-91,  92-93 

Fines  appropriated  for  educational  pur- 
poses, 14,  27,  42,  63,  119-20,  125 

Franklin  Academy  (Jefferson  County),  21 

Franklin  Academy  (Lowndes  County), 
57-58 

Franklin  Society,  21 

Fraternal  organizations,  Schools  of,  93 

French  in  Mississippi,  i 

Greene  Academy,  22 

High  schools,  65,  69-70 

Higher  education,  12,   16,  17-20,  79-94; 

support  of,  126-28 
Homogeneity  of  population,  6-7 

Institutes,  65-66,  68-70,  76 

Jefiferson  College,  18-20,  82-85,  "6 

Law,  Department  of,  85,  98-99,  127-28 
Libraries,  105-7 
Library  societies,  106-7 
Library,  state,  105-6 
License  fees,  appropriated  for  schools,  14, 
42-43,  119-20,  125 

Literary  Fund,  14,  27-29,  37-38,  40,  109, 
117 

Lotteries,  19,  22,  86,  123-24,  126 

Madison  Academy  (Claiborne  County), 
21-22 

Mann,  Horace,  15 

Manual  labor  school,  97 

Medicine,  Department  of,  85,  98 

Mihtary  training,  83,  84,  99-100 


203 


204 


INDEX 


Mississippi  College,  86-88 

:Mississippi  State  Female  College,  90-91 

Municipal  school  laws,  57-59 

Normal  school,  87-88,  99 

Occupations  of  the  people,  7-8 
Orphan  asylum,  95-97 
Orphans,  Educational  provisions  for,  16, 
52-53,  95-97 

Planter's  Bank,  33,  37-38,  80,  81 
Poindexter,  Governor,  Message  of,  27 
Poor  children.  Education  of,  28,  52-53, 

95-97 
Population:   homogeneity,  6-7;   occupa- 
tions of,  7-8;  sparseness  of,  3-6 
Prosperity,  11,  62,  64 

Religious  denominations,  74,  93 

School  Commissioner,  General,  42,  43,  99, 
no 

School  Commissioners,  County,  28, 42-43, 
109,  111-12 

School  lands,  25,  29-33.  See  also  Chicka- 
saw lands,  Federal  land  grants,  Sem- 
inary lands,  and  Sixteenth  sections 

School  status,  i860,  60-61 

School  system,  41-56;  dissolution  of, 
46-49 

Scott,  Governor,  Message  of,  41 

Secondar}^  education,  15-16,  21-23, 
62-78;  support  of,  63,  123-26 


Secretary  of  State  as  school  commissioner, 

42-43 
Seminaries,  65,  66,  76 
Seminary  Fund,  80-82 
Seminary  lands,  79-80 
Sixteenth  section  funds,  30-35,  117;   use 

of,  for  secondar\'  schools,  126 
Sixteenth  sections,  13,  25,  26,  28,  29-36 
Spanish  in  Mississippi,  i,  2 
Sparseness  of  population,  3-6 
Special  classes,  Education  for,  16,  95-104 
State  aid  for  education,  116-28 
State  influence  on  higher  education,  94 
Supervision  of  schools,  28,  43,  109-14 
Supplementary     educational     agencies, 

105-8 

Taxation:     Exemption   from,   124,    126; 

for  academies,    125-26;    for  common 

schools,  119-22 
Teachers,  Examination  and  certification, 

28,43,  53,  113-14 
Township  trustees,  29,  50-51,  109-12 
Townships,  Special  legislation  for,  54-55 

University    of    Mississippi,    88-90,    98, 
127-28 

Vocational  education,  97-99 

Washington  Academy,  22 
West  Florida,  British,  1-2 


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